UC-NRLF 


THE 

ANTI-SLAVERY  MOVEMENT 
IN  KENTUCKY 

i  fr  PRIOR  TO  1850 


A    THE5I5 

NTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 
OF  CORNELL  UNIVERSITY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

ASA  EARL  MARTIN 


1918 


EXCHANGE 


ANTI- SLAVERY  MOVEMENT 
IN  KENTUCKY 

PRIOR  TO  1850 


A  THESIS 

Presented  to   The   Faculty    of    Xne    Graduate 

Sckool   of   Cornell  University   For 

Tne   Decree   of 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 
ASA  EARL  MARTIN 

Assistant  Professor  of  American   History, 
The  Pennsylvania  State  College 


y c 

/'•*/   *** 


TO 

ANNA  ELIZABETH  Fox  MARTIN 


PREFACE. 


While  much  has  been  written  concerning  the  anti-slavery 
movement  in  the  United  States,  the  work  of  historians  has  been 
chiefly  directed  toward  the  radical  movement  associated  with 
the  name  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison.  This  has  often  been  done 
at  the  expense  of  and  sometimes  to  the  total  neglect  of  those  who 
favored  gradual  emancipation.  This  inequality  of  treatment 
has  been  accredited  to  the  fact  that  the  Garrisonian  abolitionists 
were  exceedingly  active  and  vigorous  in  their  propaganda  and 
not  to  any  preponderance  of  numbers  or  larger  historical  sig 
nificance.  The  gradual  emancipationists,  unlike  the  followers  of 
Garrison  who  were  restricted  to  the  free  states,  were  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  Union.  They  embraced  great  numbers  of  the 
leaders  in  politics,  business,  and  education ;  and  while  far  more 
numerous  in  the  free  than  in  the  slave  states  they  nevertheless 
included  a  large  and  respectable  element  in  Maryland,  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Missouri.  It  was  to  be  expected  that 
the  gradual  emancipationists  in  these  border  states  would  act 
with  conservatism.  They  were  themselves  sometimes  slave 
holders  and  in  any  event  they  saw  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
of  any  sort  of  emancipation.  Their  number  was,  however,  too 
considerable  and  their  activities  too  noteworthy  to  warrant  the 
neglect  which  they  have  received  at  the  hands  of  the  historians 
of  the  anti-slavery  movement. 

In  this  volume  I  have  attempted  to  relate  the  history  of 
the  anti-slavery  movement  in  Kentucky  to  the  year  1850  with 
special  emphasis  upon  the  work  of  the  gradual  emancipationists. 
I  intend  later  to  prepare  a  second  volume  which  will  carry  the 
study  to  1870;  and  I  hope  that  the  appearance  of  this  work  will 
encourage  the  promotion  of  similar  studies  in  the  other  border 
states. 

I  desire  to  express  my  obligations  to  those  who  have  aided 
me  in  the  preparation  of  this  work.  Though  but  few  can  be 
mentioned  by  name,  the  services  of  all  are  held  in  grateful 
remembrance.  While  most  of  the  work  was  done  at  Cornell  Uni 
versity,  I  feel  especially  indebted  to  Professor  William  E.  Dodd 
and  to  Professor  M.  W.  Jernegan  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 
Under  their  direction  my  graduate  study  was  begun  and  my  at- 


tention  directed  to  the  subject  of  this  investigation.  To  Pro 
fessor  George  F.  Zook,  of  The  Pennsylvania  State  College,  I  am 
under  obligation  for  reading  and  criticizing  the  manuscript.  Nor 
can  I  fail  to  mention  the  many  courtesies  shown  me  at  the  library 
of  the  Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society,  at  the  library  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  where  the  Durrett  collection  of  Ken 
tucky  newspapers  and  manuscripts  was  placed  at  my  disposal 
before  it  had  been  catalogued  or  thrown  open  to  the  general 
public,  at  the  library  of  Cornell  University,  at  the  Congres 
sional  Library,  at  Harvard  University  Library,  at  the  Boston 
Public  Library  and  at  the  libraries  in  Cincinnati.  Through  the 
kindness  of  Miss  Sophonisba  Breckinridge  of  the  University  of 
Chicago  much  valuable  material  was  obtained  from  the  Breck 
inridge  papers  now  deposited  in  the  Library  of  Congress  but  not 
yet  available  for  public  use.  Above  all  I  am  indebted  to  my 
wife  for  valuable  assistance  rendered  me  in  reading  and  cor 
recting  both  manuscript  and  proof. 

In  justice  to  the  persons  named,  I  should  add  that  the 
author  alone  is  responsible  for  statements  of  fact  and  for  con 
clusions.  In  a  few  cases,  perhaps  unwisely,  I  have  disregarded 
their  suggestions. 

December  12,  1917.  ASA  EARL  MARTIN. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION 6 

I.  THE  FIRST  ATTACK  UPON  SLAVERY 11 

II.  ANTI-SLAVERY  IN  KENTUCKY,  1792-1800 18 

III.  ANTI-SLAVERY  IN  KENTUCKY,  1800-1830 33 

IV.  THE  COLONIZATION  MOVEMENT  IN  KENTUCKY, 

1816-1850 49 

V.  ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETIES  AND  THE  ADVENT  OF 

GARRISONIAN  ABOLITION,  1830-1840 63 

VI.  THE  KENTUCKY  CHURCHES  AND  SLAVERY,  1830- 

1850 79 

VII.  THE  NON-IMPORTATION  LAW  OF  1833  AND  THE 

EFFORTS  TO  SECURE  ITS  REPEAL 88 

VIII.  GRADUAL  EMANCIPATION  AND  RADICAL   ABOLI 

TIONISM,  1830-1840 98 

IX.  THE  FAILURE  OF  EMANCIPATION  IN  THE  CONSTI 

TUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1849 Ill 

X.  CONCLUSIONS 139 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 148 

INDEX  .  159 


INTRODUCTION 


The  portion  of  Virginia  located  west  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  and  known  as  Kentucky  was  frequently  visited  by 
Indian  traders  and  hunters  between  1750  and  1770  and  proba 
bly  from  earlier  times.  The  early  comers  did  not  remain  to 
make  permanent  improvements.  After  hunting  and  trading  in 
the  country  for  a  few  months,  they  either  returned  to  their 
eastern  homes  or  pushed  further  westward  or  southward.  The 
glowing  accounts  given  by  them  of  the  beauty  and  the  resources 
of  this  distant  region  awakened  much  interest  in  the  older  com 
munities,  and  resulted,  after  repeated  failures,  in  the  establish 
ment  in  Kentucky  during  the  first  years  of  the  American  Rev 
olution  of  permanent  settlements,  which  advanced  after  1783 
with  great  rapidity.1  The  frontier  was  pushed  back  in  every 
direction  and  by  1792  the  increase  of  population  and  the  devel 
opment  of  resources  was  sufficient  to  warrant  Congress  in  ad 
mitting  the  district  into  the  Union.2 

Slavery  was  introduced  into  Kentucky  with  the  earliest 
settlers. 3  While  the  majority  of  the  pioneers  were  very  poor  and 
consequently  non-slaveholders,  there  was,  during  the  years 
following  the  Revolution,  an  influx  of  prosperous  settlers, 
particularly  from  Virginia,  who  brought  a  number  of  slaves 
with  them  and  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  on  a  con 
siderable  scale.4  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  Indian  danger 
had  been  removed  and  frontier  conditions  in  Kentucky  had  given 
place  to  commercial  activity  and  to  planting  for  profit  as  well  as 
for  subsistence  that  the  number  of  Negroes  materially  increased. 
Their  numerical  strength  can  not  be  definitely  determined5 

1     Theodore  Roosevelt:    "Winning  of  the  West,"  Vol.  3,  p.  12f. 

»     United  States  Statutes  At  Large,  Vol.  1,  1789-99,  p.  189. 

»  Draper  MSS.:  "Life of  Daniel  Boone,"  Vol.  3,  pp.  351-2.  Daniel  Boonein  a  letter  to 
Col.  Richard  Henderson,  April  1, 1775,  written  in  what  is  now  Madison  County,  said  that  a  party 
of  Indians  firing  on  his  company  had  killed  Mr.  Tweety  and  his  Negro.  Among  Boone's 
accounts  there  is  also  an  entry  recording  his  purchase  of  a  Negro  woman  for  the  sum  of  80 
pounds  (Roosevelt,  "Winning  of  the  West,"  Vol.  3,  p.  27).  In  the  records  of  the  various  settle 
ments  mention  is  often  made  of  Negroes.  (Richard  H.  Collins:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  p.  38.) 
(Lewis  Collins:  "Historical  Sketches,"  p.  19.) 

«     N.  S.  Shaler:  "Kentucky,  A  Pioneer  Commonwealth,"  p.  117. 

*  Draper  MSS.:  Vol.  4,  p.  503.  In  1777  a  census  of  the  town  of  Harrodsburg  gave 
the  slave  population  as  19  out  of  a  total  of  201  inhabitants. 

The  following  table  gives  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  white,  the  slave  and  the  free 
Negro  elements  of  the  population  of  Kentucky  from  1790  to  1850: 


YEAR 
1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 

WHITE 
61  ,133 
179,873 
324  ,237 
434  ,644 
517,787 
590  ,253 
761  ,413 

PER  CENT. 
83.0 
81.4 
79.7 
75.9 
75.2 
75.7 
77.5 

SLAVE 
12  ,430 
40  ,343 
80  ,561 
126,732 
165  ,213 
182  ,258 
210,981 

PER  CENT. 
16.9 
18.2 
19.8 
23.4 
24.0 
23.3 
21.4 

FREE  NEGRO 
114 
739 
1  ,713 
2,759 
4,917 
7,317 
10,011 

PER 
CENT. 
.1 
.3 
.4 
.7 
.7 
.9 

Introduction  7 

previous  to  1790,  when,  according  to  the  first  federal  census, 
they  constituted  16.9  per  cent,  of  the  total  population.6 

The  leading  slaveholding  section  in  1790  was  the  central 
part  of  the  state,  commonly  known  as  the  Blue  Grass  region. 
During  the  next  three  decades  slaveholding  extended  eastward 
and  southeastward  to  the  mountainous  districts  and  quite 
generally  over  the  western  and  southern  parts  of  the  state. 
The  percentage  of  the  slave  population  in  1790  varied  in  the 
different  counties  from  8  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  total.  By  1850 
it  was  equal  to  that  of  the  white  population  in  several  of  the 
counties  in  the  Blue  Grass  region,  while  in  the  mountainous 
counties  along  the  eastern  border  it  did  not  exceed  2  or  3  per 
cent. 7 

Since  it  is  obvious  that  the  growth  of  slavery  in  Kentucky 
must  depend  upon  the  system  of  agriculture,  it  may  be  impor 
tant  to  notice  at  this  point  the  various  products  of  the  state  in 
the  early  period.  Although  no  record  was  made  by  the  census 
department  of  the  agricultural  products  in  the  states  before 
1840  and  little  accurate  information  on  the  subject  is  available, 
some  material  has  been  found  to  indicate  the  kind  and  the  value 
of  the  principal  products  of  farm  and  factory.  In  1789  Lord 
Dorchester  (Sir  Guy  Carleton),  the  Governor  General  of  Canada, 
in  a  letter  to  Lord  Sidney  said  that  "the  cultivated  products" 
of  Kentucky  were  "Indian  corn,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  etc., 
and  tobacco,  which  latter  article  is  raised  in  considerable  quan 
tities  by  slaves,  as  practiced  in  Virginia."8  Furthermore  he 
expressed  the  opinion  that  "of  all  the  forms  of  cultivation  of 
which  the  colony  is  susceptible,  that  which  would  be  at  once 
more  profitable  to  the  settlers*  *  *  would  be  the  rearing  of 
flocks."9  Henry  B.  Fearon  in  his  "Sketches  of  America"  gives 
the  value  of  the  exports  of  Kentucky  for  1818  as:10 

Flour  and  Wheat $1  ,000  ,000 

Pork,  Bacon  and  Lard 350  ,000 

Whiskey 500  ,000 

Tobacco 1  ,900  ,000 

Cordage,  Hemp  and  Fabrics  of  Hemp 500  ,000 

Wool  and  Fabrics  of  Wool  and  Cotton 100  ,000 

Cattle 200  ,000 

•  Draper  MSS.:    Vol.  4,  p.  503.    Table  note  5. 
7  Ibid. 

•  Canadian  Archives,  1890,  p.  119. 

•  76  id. 

»  Henry  B.  Fearon:  "Sketches  of  America."  p.  238. 

See  also.  Timothy  Flint:  "History  and  Geography  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,"  Vol.  1. 
p.  351;  J.  L.  Allen:  "The  Blue  Grass  Region  of  Kentucky,"  p.  53. 


8       The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

Horses  and  Mules $100  ,000 

Salt-petre  and  Gunpowder 60  ,000 

White  and  Red  Lead 45  ,000 

Soap  and  Candles 27  ,000 


Total $4  ,782  ,000 

It  is  noteworthy  that  cotton  does  not  appear  in  this  list. 

In  the  following  table  * l  are  enumerated  for  comparison  the 
chief  agricultural  products  in  1840  of  the  states  of  Ohio,  Ken 
tucky,  and  Alabama.  Ohio  is  selected  as  a  neighboring  free 
state  and  Alabama  as  a  representative  state  of  the  lower  South. 

Ohio       Kentucky         Alabama 

Horses  and  Mules 430,527  295,853  143,147 

Cattle 1  ,217  ,874  787  ,098  668  ,018 

Sheep 2  ,028  ,401       1  ,008  ,240  163  ,243 

Swine 2  ,099  ,746       2  ,310  ,533         1  ,423  ,873 

Wheat,  Bushels 16  ,571  ,661       4  ,803  ,151  828  ,052 

Barley,  Bushels 212  ,440  17  ,491  7  ,692 

Oats,  Bushels 14  ,393  ,103       7  ,155  ,974         1  ,406  ,353 

Rye,  Bushels 814,205       1,321,373  51,008 

Corn,  Bushels 33  ,668  ,144     39  ,847  ,120       20  ,947  ,004 

Potatoes,  Bushels 5  ,805  ,021       1  ,055  ,085         1  ,708  ,356 

Sugar,  Pounds 6  ,363  ,386       1  ,377  ,835  10  ,143 

Tobacco,  Pounds 5  ,942  ,275     53  ,436  ,909  273  ,302 

Cotton,  Pounds 691  ,456     117  ,138  ,823 

A  study  of  the  table  shows  that  by  1840  Kentucky  pro 
duced  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco  and  fairly  large  quantities  of 
other  agricultural  staples  such  as  corn,  oats  and  wheat.  Cot 
ton  was  a  negligible  product  in  comparison  with  its  production 
in  a  state  of  the  lower  South.  With  the  exception  of  the  single  item 
of  tobacco,  the  products  of  Kentucky  were  strikingly  like  those 
of  Ohio  as  to  kind  and  quantity,  a  fact  which  undoubtedly  had 
its  bearing  upon  the  attitude  of  the  state  toward  slavery  at  vari 
ous  periods  before  1860.  The  system  of  slave  labor  was  bound 
up  only  with  the  production  of  tobacco  in  so  far  as  agricultural 
staples  were  concerned,  since  it  was  hardly  to  be  doubted  that 
the  cultivation  of  wheat,  oats,  rye,  corn,  and  perhaps  of  hemp 
also  could  be  carried  on  more  profitably  with  free  than  with 
slave  labor. 


U.  S.  Census  Report:     1840,  Agriculture,  Manufactures,  etc.,  pp.  228,  274,  260,  326. 


Introduction  9 

So  important  was  the  production  of  tobacco  in  Kentucky 
and  so  intimately  was  it  connected  with  the  system  of  slave  labor 
in  the  state  that  further  description  of  the  industry  seems 
desirable.  Though  grown  in  all  parts  of  the  country  in  1840, 12 
tobacco  was  pre-eminently  a  border  state  product  and  in  its 
production  was  found  the  chief  employment  of  the  slaves  in 
those  states.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  Kentucky  planters 
did  not  generally  regard  the  industry  as  well  adapted  to  the 
economic  life  of  the  state.  The  cultivation  of  tobacco  was 
exhaustive  to  the  soil  and  required  a  constant  extension  of  the 
tobacco  fields.  This  absorption  of  new  land  and  replacing  of 
white  free-holders  by  Negroes  was  further  extended  because 
of  the  necessity  of  providing  additional  land  to  give  employment 
to  the  natural  increase  of  the  slaves.  These  disadvantages 
were  keenly  felt  in  Kentucky  where  the  physical  conditions 
did  not  favor  the  plantation  system.  The  soil  in  the  main 
slave-holding  portion  of  the  state  was  easily  tilled  and  was 
abundantly  productive;  the  climate  was  temperate  and  invig 
orating.  As  a  result,  the  system  of  agriculture  was  that  of  the 
small  farm  and  not  that  of  the  vast  plantation. 

The  people  of  Kentucky  early  appreciated  the  fact  that  the 
cultivation  of  tobacco  might  not  be  entirely  desirable.  In 
Danville,  for  many  years  the  political  and  religious  center  of 
the  state,13  there  existed,  between  1786  and  1790,  a  political 
club  composed  of  some  thirty  members,  among  whom  were  a 
number  of  the  officers  of  the  district.  Nearly  all  of  them 
afterwards  held  important  offices  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  state 
and  the  national  governments. J  4  The  club  held  regular  meetings 
to  discuss  and  vote  upon  the  issues  of  the  day.  At  one  meeting 
in  1788,  it  took  under  consideration  the  question  "whether  the 
culture  of  tobacco  in  the  District  of  Kentucky  will  be  beneficial 

11  The  number  of  pounds  of  tobacco  produced  by  the  different  states  in  1840  was: 

Virginia 75  ,347  ,106 

Kentucky ...  S3  ,436  ,909 

Tennessee 29  ,550  ,432 

Maryland 24  ,816  ,016 

North  Carolina 16  ,772  ,359 

Missouri 9  ,067  ,913 

Ohio .  .    5  ,942  ,273 

Connecticut 471  ,657 

Pennsylvania 325  ,018 

Alabama 273  302 

Georgia III!!!!!!.!!! 162  ,894 

Louisiana 119  ,324 

Mississippi 83  471 

South  Carolina ] 51  ,519 

U.  S.  Census:     1840,  Agriculture,  Manufactures,  etc.]  p.  408. 

>*  Thomas  Speed:     "The  Political  Club,"  pp.  19-21.     Filson  Club  Publications,  No.  9. 

14  Speed:  "The  Political  Club,"  pp.  19-22,  38.  A  full  list  of  the  members  is  giren 
on  page  38. 


10     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

to  the  citizens  of  the  District,"  and  it  was  resolved  "that  it  is 
the  opinion  of  this  club  that  the  culture  of  tobacco  will  not  be 
beneficial  to  the  citizens  of  the  District  of  Kentucky."15  While 
the  reasons  for  this  decision  are  not  known,  it  may  be  argued 
that  the  members  of  the  Political  Club,  most  of  whom  were 
immigrants  from  Virginia,  had  misgivings  as  to  the  desirability 
of  developing  an  extensive  system  of  slave  labor  in  Kentucky, 
since  tobacco  was  cultivated  in  the  parent  state  chiefly  by  slaves. 
They  must  have  been  familiar  with  Jefferson's  "Notes  on  Vir 
ginia,"  published  in  1782,  in  which  he  deplored  the  disastrous 
effect  of  slavery  on  both  men  and  the  soil 1  °  and  accordingly 
they  may  have  felt  that  they  were  standing  at  the  parting  of 
the  ways. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that,  while  the  introduction  of 
slavery  into  Kentucky  was  inevitable  in  view  of  the  circum 
stances  of  settlement,  conditions  within  the  state  were  not 
particularly  favorable  to  its  development.  Adjacent  to  the  free 
states  of  the  Old  Northwest,  Kentucky  found  herself  in  compe 
tition  with  the  more  economic  system  of  free  labor.  The 
exhausting  nature  of  tobacco  culture  was  destined  to  render 
the  planters  keenly  conscious  of  the  handicap  under  which 
their  agriculture  labored  in  comparison  with  the  agriculture  of 
the  states  beyond  the  Ohio.  Conditions  that  had  operated  to  bring 
about  emancipation  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  states  to  the  north 
ward  soon  exerted  a  similar  influence  in  Kentucky  and  the 
result  was  an  anti-slavery  agitation  which  took  the  form  of  a 
movement  for  some  plan  of  gradual  and  compensated  eman 
cipation.  Immediate  emancipationists  and  Garrisonian  abo 
litionists  were  never  numerous  in  Kentucky  and  the  few  existing 
there  were  almost  entirely  among  the  non-slaveholding  class. 

»  Speed:    "The  Political  Club,"  p.  129. 

»•  Thomai  Jefferson:     "Notes  on  Virginia,"  pp.  221-230. 


THE  FIRST  ATTACK  UPON  SLAVERY 


CHAPTER  I 


During  the  period  of  the  Revolution  and  the  early  years  of 
the  Republic,  sentiment  in  the  country  as  a  whole  was  unfriend 
ly  to  the  institution  of  slavery.  It  was  regarded  as  inconsis 
tent  with  Christian  civilization  and  out  of  accord  with  the  great 
principles  of  liberty  for  which  the  Colonies  had  contended. 
Since  slavery  existed  in  every  state  in  the  Union,  the  feeling  that 
it  was  injurious  to  society  was  in  no  sense  dependent  upon  sec 
tional  lines.  Its  existence  was  lamented  by  such  men  as  Wash 
ington,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Madison,  Franklin,  Hamilton,  Jay 
and  Adams.  There  was  a  general  regret  that  the  institution 
had  ever  been  planted  in  America  and  it  was  hoped  that  in  time 
it  would  be  abandoned.  No  effort  was  made  to  defend  it  or  to 
present  it  as  an  ideal  basis  for  the  political  and  economic  struc 
ture  of  society  and  at  best  it  was  regarded  as  a  necessary  evil. l 
It  was  opposed  upon  economic  grounds  by  some  and  upon  moral 
and  religious  grounds  by  others  and  the  question,  as  Jefferson 
stated  it,  was  whether  "the  liberties  of  a  nation  be  secure  when 
we  have  removed  their  only  firm  basis,  a  conviction  in  the  minds 
of  the  people  that  their  liberties  are  of  the  gift  of  God."2  It  is, 
therefore,  not  surprising  that  Jefferson  in  the  constitution  which 
he  proposed  for  the  state  of  Virginia  in  1776  inserted  a  provision 
that  "no  person  hereafter  coming  into  this  country  shall  be  held 
in  slavery  under  any  pretext  whatever."3  His  opposition  to 
slavery  was  expressed  again  in  1784  in  the  report  to  Congress  on 
a  plan  of  government  for  the  Western  Territory,  which  contained 
a  clause  prohibiting  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude  in  this  terri 
tory  after  the  year  1800.4  Three  years  later  this  principle  was 
accepted  in  the  famous  Northwest  Ordinance. 


.  »  W.  F.  Pooler  "Anti-Slavery  Opinion  before  1800";  S.  B.  Weeks:  "Anti-Slavery 
Opinion  in  the  South,"  publications  of  the  Southern  Historical  Association,  Vol.  2,  1898. 

1  Jefferson:     "Notes  on  Virginia,"  p.  222. 

1  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson:    Vol.  2,  p.  26. 

'Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson:  Vol.  3,  p.  432.  Later  in  his  life  Jefferson  was  forced 
to  abandon  his  early  hope  that  slavery  would  soon  cease  to  flourish  in  America;  yet  he  still 
believed  in  its  ultimate  extinction.  In  1814  he  said:  "The  love  of  justice  and  the  love  of 
country  plead  equally  for  the  cause  of  these  people."  Ibid.,  Vol.  4,  p.  477.  He  still  believed 
that  the  hour  of  emancipation  was  advancing  with  the  "march  of  time"  and  urged  continued 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  freedom. 


12     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

It  was  during  the  Revolutionary  period  that  slavery  was 
introduced  into  Kentucky  and  one  need  not  be  surprised  to  find 
that  the  newly  settled  district  shared  in  the  opposition  described 
above.  The  economic  and  social  conditions  of  the  frontier  were 
antagonistic  to  slavery  and  favorable  to  the  development  of  a 
democratic  society.  Frontier  life  tended  to  produce  self  reliance, 
independence,  and  individuality.  It  fostered  a  sense  of  equality. 
There  was  an  absence  of  great  wealth,  of  highly  polished  society, 
and  of  a  leisure  class.  Slaveholding  could  not  be  an  important 
element  in  the  social,  economic,  or  political  life  of  such  a  people 
and  a  large  percentage  of  the  population  did  not  own  slaves.  In 
addition  to  these  pioneers  in  the  Blue  Grass  region,  there  were 
settlers  of  decided  anti-slavery  tendencies  from  New  England 
and  other  northern  states  who  settled  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state.  Such  was  John  Filson,  the  "Yankee  Schoolmaster"  and 
the  first  historian  of  Kentucky.5 

While  Kentucky  remained  an  integral  part  of  Virginia,  there 
was  little  opportunity  for  a  general  expression  of  the  sentiment 
of  the  people  as  to  slavery;  but,  upon  one  occasion,  their  opinion 
was  indirectly  voiced  in  a  debate  before  the  Danville  Political 
Club,  which,  as  has  been  stated,  embraced  some  of  the  leading 
men  of  Kentucky.  At  one  of  the  meetings,  in  1788,  the  new 
federal  constitution,  which  had  recently  been  submitted  to  the 
states  for  ratification,  was  taken  under  consideration.  Senti 
ment  was  unanimous  against  the  clause  relating  to  the  impor 
tation  of  slaves  because  it  deprived  Congress  of  the  power  to  pro 
hibit  the  foreign  slave  trade  before  1808.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
the  members  that  Congress  ought  to  be  given  power  to  cut  off 
the  odious  traffic  at  any  time  it  should  choose  to  do  so.6  While 
this  act  was  not  a  direct  condemnation  of  slavery,  it  showed  an 
early  desire  to  check  the  growth  of  the  institution. 

Though  the  opposition  to  slavery  was  general  throughout 
the  country,  there  was,  however,  little  organized  sentiment 
against  the  institution  as  such.  What  there  was,  seems  to  have 
existed  in  Kentucky  as  elsewhere,  chiefly  among  the  churches. 

It  was  David  Rice,  the  father  of  Presbyterianism  in  the 
West,  who  took  the  first  conspicuous  step  toward  securing  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  Kentucky.7  He  moved  from  Virginia  in 

»  R.  H.  Collins:     "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  2,  pp.  195,  492. 

•  Speed:     "Political  Club,"  p.  151. 

7  R.  H.  Bishop:  "Outline  of  the  Church  in  Kentucky,  containing  the  Memoirs  of  David 
Rice, "pp.  114,95,385,  417 ;  R.  H.Collins:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  l,p.  132f;  J.M.  Brown: 
"Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  226;  Robert  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churchin  Kentucky,"  pp.  65-71. 


The  First  Attack  Upon  Slavery  13 

1783  and  identified  his  fortunes  with  those  of  the  new  settlement. 
Besides  his  active  duties  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  and  as 
the  organizer  of  numerous  churches,  he  was  zealously  engaged 
in  advancing  the  cause  of  education.  He  established  in  his 
house  in  Lincoln  County,  in  1784,  the  first  grammar  school  of 
the  West.  He  was  also  the  first  teacher  in  Transylvania  Semi 
nary,  and  for  years  the  chairman  of  its  board  of  trustees.  "Father" 
Rice,  as  he  was  commonly  known,  was  recognized  for  his  ability 
and  piety  as  a  leader  of  the  religious  and  educational  thought 
in  the  West.8 

On  the  eve  of  the  meeting  of  the  convention  of  1792  to 
frame  a  constitution  for  Kentucky  as  a  state  in  the  Union,  he 
published,  under  the  signature  of  " Philanthropes, "  a  pamphlet 
entitled  "Slavery,  Inconsistent  with  Justice  and  Good  Policy"9 
which  embraced  the  doctrine  he  had  long  preached.  In  this 
he  spoke  freely  of  the  infringement  on  personal  rights;  the 
want  of  protection  for  females;  the  deprivation  of  religious  and 
moral  instruction;  the  violent  separation  of  families;  the  growing 
danger  of  servile  insurrection ;  the  tendency  to  sap  the  foundations 
of  moral  and  political  virtue;  the  indulging  in  habits  of  idleness 
and  vice,  especially  among  the  young  men;  the  comparative 
unproductiveness  of  slave  property;  the  discouraging  of  valuable 
immigration  from  the  eastward;  and  the  probable  deterioration 
of  the  country.  He  undertook  to  answer  objections  that  were 
commonly  raised  to  emancipation,  especially  those  drawn  from  the 
Scriptures,  which  were  being  used  to  justify  slavery.  In  con 
clusion  he  proposed  that  the  coming  convention  should  "resolve 
unconditionally  to  put  an  end  to  slavery  in  Kentucky."10  Not 
content  with  mere  argument,  he  succeeded  in  being  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  coming  convention. 1 1 

Soon  after  the  assembling  of  the  convention  in  Danville, 
in  1792, ! 2  a  special  committee,  of  which  Colonel  George  Nicholas 

•  Davidson:     "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  pp.  65-71. 

8  Bishop:    "Outline  of  the  Church  in  Kentucky,"  pp.  385ff,  gives  this  pamphlet  in  full. 

»  Ibid. 

11  Lewis  Collins:  "Historical  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  p.  147,  gives  a  list  of  the 
delegates  to  the  Convention  from  the  different  counties.  J.  M.  Brown:  "Political  Beginnings 
of  Kentucky,"  p.  226f,  Filson  Club  Publications.  R.  H.  Collins:  "History  of  Kentucky." 
Vol.  1.  p.  133;  Humphrey  Marshall:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  p.  394. 

11  Marshall:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  p.  394;  Mann  Butler:  "History  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Kentucky,"  pp.  206-7. 

J.  T.  Morehead  in  "An  Address  in  Commemoration  of  the  First  Settlement  of  Ken 
tucky"  (133-4),  at  Jonesborough  on  the  25th  of  May,  1840,  in  speaking  of  the  members  of 
the  convention  of  1792  said:  "From  the  County  of  Mercer  was  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  a  min 
ister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.***He  sought  a  place  in  the  convention,  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  infuse  into  its  deliberations  a  zeal  for  the  gradual  extirpation  of  slavery  in  Kentucky.*** 
His  learning,  his  piety,  his  grave  and  venerable  deportment,  and  his  high  rank  in  the  church 
to  which  he  belonged,  gave  to  his  opinions  deserved  influence,  and  he  supported  them  in  de 
bate  with  considerable  ability." 


14     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

was  the  most  influential  member,  was  appointed  to  draft  the 
constitution,  which  was  soon  offered  for  adoption.  Apparently 
no  serious  differences  existed  among  the  delegates  except  as  to 
recognizing  the  existence  or  the  perpetuity  of  slavery.13  This 
question  was  brought  directly  before  the  convention  by  the 
ninth  article  which  legalized  slavery.  After  considerable  dis 
cussion  the  article  was  adopted  and  while  it  was  designed  to 
make  the  institution  as  mild  and  as  humane  as  possible  it  never 
theless  made  it  virtually  perpetual  unless  there  should  be  a 
change  in  the  fundamental  law.  The  legislature  was  denied 
power  to  pass  laws  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves  without  the 
consent  of  their  owners,  nor  could  it  prevent  immigrants  from 
bringing  in  their  slaves.  On  the  other  hand,  the  General  As 
sembly  was  given  extensive  powers  in  respect  to  importation 
of  slaves  into  the  state  as  merchandise. 1 4 

It  was  upon  the  adoption  of  this  article  that  the  friends 
and  opponents  of  slavery  joined  battle.  The  ablest  of  those 
who  opposed  the  definite  establishment  of  slavery  in  Kentucky 
was  David  Rice.  During  the  early  days  of  the  convention 
he  delivered  an  address  before  that  body  which  was  one  of  the 
most  earnest  and  forceful  productions  of  the  period.15  In  it 
he  pointed  to  the  anomaly  of  a  "free  moral  agent,  legally  de 
prived  of  free  agency,  and  obliged  to  act  according  to  the  will 
of  another  free  agent  of  the  same  species ;  and  yet  he  is  accountable 
to  his  Creator  for  the  use  he  makes  of  his  own  free  agency."10 

He  declared  sarcastically  that  the  legislature,  in  order  to 
be  consistent,  should  make  the  master  accountable  for  the 
actions  of  the  slaves  in  all  things  here  and  hereafter.  * 7  He 

»  Brown:     "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  227f. 

«  "The  legislature  shall  have  no  power  to  pass  laws  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves 
without  the  consent  of  their  owners,  previous  to  such  emancipation,  and  a  full  equivalent 
in  money  for  the  slaves  so  emancipated.  They  shall  have  no  power  to  prevent  emigrants 
to  this  State  from  bringing  with  them  such  persons  as  are  deemed  slaves  by  the  laws  of  any 
one  of  the  United  States,  so  long  as  any  person  of  the  same  age  or  description  shall  be  con 
tinued  in  slavery  by  the  laws  of  this  State.  They  shall  pass  laws  to  permit  the  owners  of 
slaves  to  emancipate  them,  saving  the  rights  of  creditors,  and  preventing  them  from  becom 
ing  chargeable  to  the  county  in  which  they  reside.  They  shall  have  full  power  to  prevent  slaves 
being  brought  into  this  State  as  merchandize.  They  shall  have  full  power  to  prevent  any 
slaves  being  brought  into  this  State  from  any  foreign  country,  and  to  prevent  those  from 
being  brought  into  this  State  who  have  been  since  the  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-nine,  or  hereafter  may  be,  imported  into  any  of  the  United  States  from 
a  foreign  country.  And  they  shall  have  full  power  to  pass  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  to 
oblige  the  owners  of  slaves  to  treat  them  with  humanity,  to  provide  for  them  necessary 
clothing  and  provision,  to  abstain  from  all  injuries  to  them,  extending  to  life  or  limb,  and  in 
case  of  their  neglect  or  refusal  to  comply  with  the  directions  of  such  laws,  to  have  such  slave 
or  slaves  sold  for  the  benefit  of  their  owner  or  owners. "  William  Littell:  "Statute  Laws  of 
Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  p.  32;  B.  P.  Poore:  "The  Federal  and  State  Constitutions."  Part  1,  p.  653. 

11  This  address  was  printed  in  pamphlet  form  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  con 
vention  under  the  same  title  as  his  pre-convention  pamphlet,  but  under  his  own  name.  The 
pamphlet  went  through  many  editions. 

11  David  Rice:  "Slavery,  Inconsistent  with  Justice  and  Good  Policy,"  Edition 
1792,  pp.  5-6. 

«  Ibid.,***,  p.  6. 


The  First  Attack  Upon  Slavery  15 

regarded  liberty  as  inalienable  by  the  legislature  except  for 
vicious  conduct,  and  claims  to  property  in  slaves  as  invalid. 
"A  thousand  laws  can  never  make  that  innocent,  which  the 
Divine  Law  has  made  criminal:  or  give  them  a  right  to  that 
which  the  Divine  Law  forbids  them  to  claim."18  He  replied 
to  the  argument  that  slaveholders  would  be  prevented  from 
emigrating  to  Kentucky  by  saying  that  five  useful  citizens 
would  come  for  every  slaveholder  that  was  lost,  and  that  if 
slavery  was  permitted,  free  labor  would  seek  other  regions.19 
The  alleged  unfitness  of  slaves  for  freedom  was  met  by  the 
question,  "Shall  we  continue  to  maim  souls,  because  a  maimed 
soul  is  unfit  for  society?"20  But  he  considered  that  present 
conditions  should  be  taken  into  account  and  that  gradual 
emancipation  was  the  only  practical  plan.  His  proposal  was 
that  the  constitution  should  declare  against  slavery  as  a  matter 
of  principle,  leaving  it  to  the  legislature  to  find  the  most  suitable 
means  of  abolishing  it.  He  suggested,  however,  that  it  would 
be  expedient  for  that  body  to  "prevent  the  importation  of  any 
more  slaves"  and  to  "enact  that  all  born  after  such  a  date  should 
be  born  free"  and  that  some  system  of  education  be  devised  for 
making  useful  citizens  of  the  slaves.21  Emancipation  by  some 
means  he  regarded  as  a  political  necessity,  and  he  closed  with 
an  earnest  appeal  that  the  new  state  might  not  be  stained  with 
this  sin  at  its  birth.  "The  slavery  of  the  Negroes,"  he  said, 
"began  in  iniquity;  a  curse  has  attended  it,  and  a  curse  will 
follow  it.  National  vices  will  be  punished  with  national  calam 
ities.  Let  us  avoid  these  vices,  that  we  may  avoid  the  punish 
ment  which  they  deserve.*  *  *  Holding  men  in  slavery  is  the 
national  vice  of  Virginia;  and  while  a  part  of  that  state,  we  were 
partakers  of  the  guilt.  As  a  separate  state,  we  are  just  now 
come  to  the  birth ;  and  it  depends  upon  our  free  choice  whether 
we  shall  be  born  in  this  sin,  or  innocent  of  it.  We  now  have 
it  in  our  power  to  adopt  it  as  our  national  crime;  or  to  bear  a 
national  testimony  against  it.  I  hope  the  latter  will  be  our 
choice;  that  we  shall  wash  our  hands  of  this  guilt;  and  not 
leave  it  in  the  power  of  a  future  legislature,  evermore  to  stain 
our  reputation  or  our  conscience  with  it."22 

The  constitutional   provision  fixing  slavery  in  the  state  was 
ably  supported  by  Colonel  George  Nicholas,   the  most  distin- 


'•  Rice 
»  Ibid. 
«•  Ibid. 


Ibid. 


"Slavery,  Inconsistent  *  *  *,*'  p.  14. 
p.  15. 
p.  21. 
p.  21. 
p.  24. 


16     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

guished  man  in  the  convention  and  at  that  time  the  most  emi 
nent  lawyer  in  Kentucky. 2  3  After  a  thorough  discussion  which 
lasted  for  a  number  of  days,  the  question  was  put  to  a  vote. 
This  was  the  only  case  in  which  the  ayes  and  noes  were  recorded 
in  the  Journal.  Under  the  date  of  Wednesday,  April  18,  1792, 
is  the  following  entry:  "A  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Taylor,  of 
Mercer,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Smith,  of  Bourbon,  to  expunge  the 
ninth  article  of  the  constitution,  respecting  slavery,  which  was 
negatived ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  on  the  question  were  ordered 
to  be  entered  on  the  Journals."24  The  result  of  the  vote  was: 
yeas,  16;  nays,  26. 25 

Three  of  the  delegates,  Wallace  of  Woodford  County,  Wal 
ton  of  Nelson  County,  and  Sebastian  of  Jefferson  County,  who 
were  generally  regarded,  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  convention, 
as  emancipationists,  supported  the  constitution  as  proposed  by 
the  committee.  This  change  of  attitude  has  been  attributed  by 
Brown  and  others  to  the  influence  of  Nicholas,26  although  no 
evidence  has  been  produced  to  support  the  contention.  Had 
they  not  upheld  the  constitution,  the  final  result  would  have  been 
the  same,  though  the  pro-slavery  majority  would  have  been  re 
duced  from  ten  to  four. 

If  the  constitution  could  be  described  as  the  work  of  any 
one  man,  that  man  would  doubtless  be  Colonel  George  Nich 
olas.27  In  speaking  of  the  political  unwisdom  of  adopting 
the  ninth  article  a  prominent  historian  of  Kentucky  makes  the 

"  Marshall:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  395,  414;  L.  Collins:  "Historical 
Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  p.  44;  Butler:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  p.  207;  Brown:  "Political 
Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  227.  Colonel  Nicholas  had  immigrated  from  Virginia  in  1791, 
but  the  fame  of  his  abilities  and  the  record  of  his  public  services  had  preceded  him.  As  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  Convention  which  had  adopted  the  federal  constitution,  he  had  ably 
sustained  debate  against  Patrick  Henry  and  George  Mason,  and  deservedly  shared  with 
James  Madison  the  credit  of  carrying  the  vote  that  ratified  that  document.  A  list  of  the 
delegates  to  the  convention  is  given  in  L.  Collins:  "Historical  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  p.  147. 

»«  Brown:     "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  229. 

»*  Ibid.,  p.  230.  The  following  table  represents  the  free  and  the  slave  population  in 
1790  of  each  of  the  nine  counties  into  which  Kentucky  was  divided  at  that  time  and  the  votes 
cast  in  the  constitutional  convention  two  years  later  for  and  against  slavery. 


VOTES   IN   CONVENTION 


1790 

WHITES 
6  ,929 

SLAVES             PER  CENT.        PRO-SLAVE       ANTI-SLAVE 

908                 13                       2                       3 
3,752                  25                        2                        3 
903                  24                        2                        0 
1  ,094                  18                        3                        2 
739                  15                        4                        1 
229                    9                        2                        3 
1  ,339                  23                        2                        3 
1  ,248                  12                        4                        1 
2  ,220                 32                        5                        0 
12,430                  20                      26                      16 
,  1870,  pp.  31-33;  L.  Collins:     "Historical  Sketches 
Western  Territory  of  North  America,"  p.  378  (map). 

Fayette  

14  ,626 

Jefferson 

3,857 

5)446 

Madison 

5,035 

2  ,500 

5  ,745 

Nelson  .  .  . 
Woodford 

10  ,032 
6,963 

Total  .  .  . 
United 
of  Kentucky,1 

61  ,333 

States  Census:     Population 
'  p.  147;  Gilbert  Imlay:     "V\ 

16  Brown:     "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  230. 

17  Marshall:     "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  p.  414;  Butler:     "History  of  Kentucky,' 
p.  207;  Brown:     "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  228.     Mr.  Speed  in  the  "Danville 
Political  Club,"  p.  162,  says  that  the  influence  of  Nicholas  in  the  convention  has  been  over 
estimated;  that  the  convention  was  composed  of  strong  men  who  thought  and  acted  for  them 
selves. 


The  First  Attack  Upon  Slavery  17 

following  comment:  "And  the  unfortunate  step  was  taken  under 
the  guidance  of  a  man  whose  ability  and  uprightness  can  not  be 
questioned,  whose  experience  in  affairs  was  large,  and  whose 
performances  justified  confidence.  But  Nicholas  was  not  yet  a 
Kentuckian.  He  had  not  yet  learned  the  ways  of  the  West,  nor 
comprehended  where  the  interests  of  the  new  commonwealth 
were  different  from  what  suited  or  seemed  to  suit  Virginia  and 
her  people."28 

Seven  of  the  forty-five  members  of  the  convention  were  min 
isters,  of  whom  three,  Bailey,  Smith,  and  Garrard,  were  Baptists; 
three,  Crawford,  Swope,  and  Rice,  were  Presbyterians ;  and  one, 
Kavanaugh,  was  a  Methodist. 2  9  Though  David  Rice  resigned  his 
seat  in  the  convention  before  the  final  vote  was  taken,  Harry 
Innes,30  elected  to  take  his  place,  supported  the  emancipation 
ists.  The  six  ministers  voted  solidly  against  slavery,  showing 
that  the  religious  leaders  were  in  accord  in  this  matter,  although 
none  of  the  others  seems  to  have  taken  as  active  a  part  in  opposi 
tion  to  it  on  the  floor  of  the  convention  as  did  David  Rice. 

The  constitution  of  1792  was  not  submitted  to  the  people 
for  ratification,  but,  had  it  been,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
article  nine  would  have  been  accepted  by  popular  vote.  There 
were  not  more  than  15,000  slaves  in  the  state  and  the  majority 
of  the  people,  mostly  immigrants  from  Virginia  where  slavery  ex 
isted  and  seemed  to  be  profitable,  did  not  appreciate  the  import 
ance  of  the  question.  The  new  state  had  stood  at  the  parting  of 
the  ways  and  the  way  that  was  chosen  was  destined  to  lead  it  to 
the  unhappy  fate  so  ably  foretold  by  David  Rice.3 1 

"  Brown:     "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  231. 

"  Brown:  "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  p.  230;  Lewis  Collins:  "Historical 
Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  p.  147. 

10  Brown:     "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  pp.  228-29. 

11  For  attitude  of  the  churches  of  Kentucky  toward  slavery  before  1792,  see  the  follow 
ing  chapter,  pp.  19ff. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  IN  KENTUCKY 
1792-1800 


CHAPTER   II 


The  constitution  of  1792  had  scarcely  gone  into  effect 
when  it  was  assailed  on  all  sides.1  There  was  dissatisfaction 
with  the  method  of  electing  the  governor  and  the  state  sen 
ators.2  There  were  objections  to  the  limitations  placed  upon 
local  government  and  to  the  arbitrary  powers  given  the  sheriff. 3 
Still  another  demand  for  constitutional  reform  came  from  the 
anti-slavery  element,  which  was  encouraged  by  the  strong 
fight  in  1792  and  soon  went  forward  with  renewed  efforts.4 

As  was  to  be  expected,  the  anti-slavery  element  found  ready 
expression  through  the  religious  organizations  of  the  state. 
The  Baptists,  the  Presbyterians,  and  the  Methodists,  the  lead 
ing  denominations  in  Kentucky,  were  the  only  denominations 
to  take  any  considerable  part  in  the  slavery  controversy  before 
1850.  The  Friends,  whose  opposition  to  slavery  is  proverbial, 
although  not  so  numerous  in  Kentucky  as  in  the  adjacent 
states,  contributed  indirectly  to  the  cause  of  anti-slavery.  The 
Roman  Catholics,  the  Episcopalians,  the  Disciples  (Christians), 
and  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  did  not  figure  largely  in 
the  slavery  agitation. 

1  For  a  number  of  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1792,  the  slave  code 
of  Virginia  continued  to  be  used  in  Kentucky.  It  was  gradually  superseded,  however,  by 
special  laws,  the  first  of  which,  regulating  all  dealings  with  and  the  method  and  procedure 
of  the  trial  of  slaves,  were  passed  during  the  first  session  of  the  legislature.  Littell:  Vol. 
1,  pp.  120,  157-8.  Two  years  later,  provisions  were  made  for  the  regulation  of  the  importation 
and  the  emancipation  of  slaves  (Ibid.,  p.  246)  and  finally,  in  1798,  the  several  acts  concerning 
slaves,  free  Negroes,  Mulattoes,  and  Indians,  together  with  a  number  of  additional  enactments, 
were  consolidated  into  one  code,  which  did  not  differ  materially  from  the  codes  of  Virginia 
and  the  other  slave  States.  (Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  113-23).  Although  severe  in  many  respects, 
its  provisions  were  generally  interpreted  and  applied  very  liberally.  This  was  especially  true 
of  the  law  regulating  voluntary  emancipation,  first  passed  in  1794,  by  which  any  person,  by 
his  last  will  or  testament,  or  any  other  instrument  in  writing  that  was  properly  attested  and 
approved  in  the  county  court  by  two  witnesses  was  permitted  to  emancipate  his  slave  or  slaves. 
The  court  was  given  full  power  to  demand  bond  and  sufficient  security  of  the  emancipator 
for  the  maintenance  of  any  slave  that  might  be  aged  or  infirm  either  in  body  or  in  mind  in 
order  to  prevent  his  becoming  a  charge  to  the  county.  (Ibid.,  p.  246f;  Vol.11,  pp.  119-20). 
This  large  discretionary  power  was  exercised  with  great  moderation  and  the  provisions  of  the 
act  liberally  construed  by  the  courts.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Kentucky  in  1829  decided 
that  a  slave  might  be  emancipated  by  any  instrument  in  writing;  it  was  not  even  necessary 
that  it  be  sealed  and  recorded,  although  it  might  be  if  the  holder  wished  it.  (2  J.  J.  Mar 
shall,  pp.  223ff).  This  decision  was  reaffirmed  the  following  year.  (4  J.  J.  Marshall,  p.  104f.) 

1  Carl  Schurz:  "Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  27;  Butler:  "History  of  Kentucky," 
p.  280;  The  Mirror,  Feb.  10,  1798. 

«  R.  H.  Collins:     "History  of  Kentucky,"  p.  61;  The  Mirror,  Feb.  10,  1798. 

4  Butler:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  p.  280;  Schurz:  "Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  Vol.  1, 
p.  27;  The  Mirror,  March  24,  1798. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800  19 

As  early  as  1788,  the  Baptist  church  took  a  stand  on  the 
anti-slavery  question.5  At  the  annual  meeting  in  Goochland 
County,  in  this  year,  the  subject  was  first  introduced  in  the 
Baptist  General  Committee  of  Virginia,  which  embraced  at 
this  time  the  district  of  Kentucky.  After  being  discussed  at 
some  length,  the  question  was  finally  deferred  till  the  next 
annual  meeting,  in  order  to  give  the  members  more  time  to 
deliberate,  and  to  consult  with  the  ministers  and  the  churches 
in  the  various  parts  of  the  state.  At  this  next  meeting,  which 
assembled  at  Richmond,  it  was  resolved,  "That  slavery  is  a 
violent  deprivation  of  the  rights  of  nature,  and  inconsistent 
with  a  Republican  Government,  and  therefore  we  recommend 
it  to  our  brethren,  to  make  use  of  every  legal  measure  to  extirpate 
this  horrid  evil  from  the  land,  and  pray  Almighty  God  that 
our  honorable  legislature  may  have  it  in  their  power  to  proclaim 
the  Great  Jubilee,  consistent  with  the  principles  of  good  policy."0 
This  expression  of  sentiment  is  significant  not  only  because 
the  church  took  a  strong  and  advanced  position  on  the  question, 
but  also  because  it  was  one  of  the  first  explicit  declarations  in 
favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  issued  by  any  religious  society, 
in  the  South. 

This  attitude  was  reflected  by  the  Baptists  of  the  District 
of  Kentucky  when,  in  1789,  the  Baptist  Church  at  Rolling 
Fork,  in  Nelson  County,  propounded  to  the  Salem  Association, 
of  which  it  was  a  member,  the  query,  "Is  it  lawful  in  the  sight 
of  God  for  a  member  of  Christ's  Church  to  keep  his  fellow 
creatures  in  perpetual  slavery?"  The  Association  declined  to 
answer  the  question  on  the  ground  that  it  was  "improper  to 
enter  into  so  important  and  critical  a  matter  at  present."  There 
upon,  the  Rolling  Fork  Church,  by  an  almost  unamimous 
vote,  withdrew  from  the  Association. 7  At  about  the  same  time 
the  church  at  Lick  Creek,  one  of  the  strongest  in  the  state, 
became  divided  on  the  question  of  slavery  and  was  denied  a 
seat  in  that  Association  until  the  difficulty  should  be  settled.8 
At  its  annual  meeting  in  1791,  the  Elkhorn  Association  appointed 
a  committee  to  draw  up  a  declaration  on  the  subject  of  "Re 
ligious  Liberty  and  Perpetual  Slavery,"  and  the  following  year 
___  i 

1  In  the  absence  of  a  central  organization  to  prescribe  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
entire  body  of  members,  the  churches  were  grouped  into  associations  through  which  certain 
general  objects  were  accomplished.  As  it  was  customary  for  the  associations  to  express 
opinions  on  matters  of  general  interest,  it  is  through  them  that  we  may  expect  to  discover 
the  attitude  of  the  churches  of  this  denomination  toward  the  institution  of  slavery. 

•  R.  B.  Semple:     "History  of  the  Virginia  Baptists,"  p.  79;  J.  H.  Spencer:     "History 
of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  183. 

•>  Spencer:     "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  184,  Vol.  2,  pp.  47,  48,  49. 

•  Ibid.,  Vol.  1,  p.  184. 


20     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  16*50 

adopted  the  report  of  the  committee,  pronouncing  slavery  in 
consistent  with  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion.  Inas 
much,  however,  as  the  individual  churches  disapproved  of  the 
act,  the  Association  recalled  the  memorial  at  a  special  meeting 
in  December  of  the  same  year,  a  meeting  probably  assembled 
for  that  purpose.9  About  the  same  time,  John  Sutton  and 
Carter  Tarrant  organized  in  Woodford  County  a  Baptist  con 
gregation  avowedly  opposed  to  slavery  under  the  name  of  the 
New  Hope  Church.  This,  Taylor,  in  his  " History  of  the  Ten 
Churches,"  pronounces  the  first  emancipation  church  in  Amer 
ica.10 

For  several  years  the  question  of  slavery  continued  to 
agitate  the  individual  churches  of  Kentucky,  but  the  associa 
tions  assumed  an  attitude  of  non-interference  and  took  no  action 
on  the  matter.  In  many  of  the  churches  emancipation  parties 
were  formed,  whose  adherents  declared  slaveholding  contrary 
to  the  principles  of  their  religion  and  refused  to  commune 
with  those  practicing  it.  Because  the  Salem  Association  re 
fused  to  pronounce  slavery  an  evil,  Mill  Creek  Church  in  Jeffer 
son  County  withdrew  in  1794.  Under  the  leadership  of  Joshua 
Carmen  and  Josiah  Dodge,  the  dissatisfied  members  of  Cox's 
Creek,  Cedar  Creek,  and  Lick  Creek  Churches  formed  an  in 
dependent  church,  whose  members  refused  to  commune  with 
slaveholders. 1 1  Carmen  and  Dodge  were  soon  joined  by  the 
venerable  William  Hickman,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Kentucky 
and  probably  the  most  influential  Baptist  preacher  in  the  state 
before  1800,  likewise  by  John  Sutton,  Carter  Tarrant,  Donald 
Holmes,  David  Barrow,  Jacob  Griggs,  George  Smith,  and  other 
ministers.12  Many  ministers  openly  preached  emancipation 
from  the  pulpits,  sometimes  even  in  the  presence  of  slaves. 
For  this  they  were  bitterly  assailed,  since  it  was  maintained 
that  the  promulgation  of  such  doctrines  would  tend  to  cause 
insubordination  among  the  slaves  and  thereby  disturb  the 
peace  of  society. 

In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  the  anti-slavery  senti 
ment  was  very  pronounced.  Its  General  Conference  declared  in 
1780  that  slavery  was  ' 'contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  man, 
nature,  and  hurtful  to  society;  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  con- 

'  Spencer:    "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.   184. 

10  John  Taylor:    "History    of  the  Ten  Churches,  1823,"  pp.  79-81.  See  also  Spencer: 
"History  of  the  Kentucky   Baptists,"  Vol.   1,  p.   186. 

11  Spencer:     "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  163,  184,  187;  Vol.  II, 
pp.  97,  107;   David    Benedict:     "History  of  trie  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.   II,  p.  246. 

1!  Spencer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  185,  Vol.  II,  pp.  152, 
186,  188;  Taylor:  "History  of  the  Ten  Churches,"  pp.  79-81. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800  21 

science,  and  pure  religion,  and  doing  that  which  we  would  not 
others  would  do  unto  us  and  ours."13  The  Conference  of  1784, 
which  organized  the  new  independent  church  in  America,  not 
only  concurred  in  this  opinion  but  by  stringent  regulations  at 
tempted  to  limit  and  control  slave-holding  within  the  church.  A 
provision  was  incorporated  in  the  discipline  which  required  every 
slaveholder  within  the  society,  within  twelve  months  after  notice 
to  "legally  execute  and  record  an  instrument  whereby  he  emanci 
pates  and  sets  free  every  slave  in  his  possession." 1 4  Slaves  of  a 
certain  age  were  to  be  set  free  within  a  certain  period,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  provide  a  gradual  emancipation.  These  rules  were  to 
apply  only  in  so  far  as  they  were  consistent  with  the  laws  of  the 
states  in  which  the  slaveholder  resided,  and  the  Virginia  breth 
ren,  in  particular,  were  given  two  years  in  which  to  consider  the 
rules.15  While  the  Conferences  of  1796  and  1800,  largely  as  a 
result  of  the  opposition  of  the  southern  churches,  where  legal 
obstruction  to  manumission  prevented  the  enforcement  of  the 
strong  rules  regarding  slavery,  somewhat  relaxed  the  discipline 
of  the  church  in  this  respect,  the  continuing  interest  of  the  Meth 
odists  in  furthering  emancipation  can  not  be  doubted.16  The 
ministers  in  Kentucky  not  only  attempted  to  avoid  all  connec 
tion  with  slavery  themselves  but  zealously  endeavored  to  en 
force  the  enactments  of  the  General  Conference  on  the  subject. 1 7 
The  Presbyterian  Church,  though  pronounced  in  its  oppo 
sition  to  slavery,  was  more  cautious  than  either  the  Methodists 
or  the  Baptists.  Its  General  Assembly,  in  1789,  not  only  ex 
pressed  its  disapproval  of  slavery  but  recommended  that  "meas- 


18  A.  H.  Redford:  "History  of  Methodism  in  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  254-59;  L.  C. 
Matlack:  "History  of  American  Slavery  and  Methodism,"  pp.  14-31. 

14  The  Conference  of  December  24, 1784,  at  Baltimore,  Tigert,  Bound  Minutes,  pp.  195. 

18  Tigert,  p.  217.  In  1784  the  Conference  adopted  the  following  resolution:  "We 
view  it  as  contrary  to  the  Golden  Law  of  God,  on  which  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
and  the  inalienable  rights  of  mankind,  as  well  as  every  principle  of  the  Revolution,  to  hold  in 
deepest  debasement,  in  a  more  abject  slavery  than  is  perhaps  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the 
world  except  America,  so  many  souls  that  are  capable  of  the  image  of  God." 

11  "Journal  of  the  General  Conferences,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  40-41;  L.  C.  Matlack:  "The  Anti- 
Slavery  Struggle  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  pp.  58-74. 

While  the  Conference  of  1800  negatived  a  proposition  to  exclude  all  slaveholders  from 
the  church,  the  ministers  were  instructed  to  consider  the  subject  "with  deep  attention"  and 
to  communicate  to  the  Conference  "any  important  thought  upon  the  subject"  that  might 
occur  to  them.  The  Annual  Conferences  were  directed  to  draw  up  addresses  for  the  gradual 
emancipation  of  slaves  to  the  legislatures  of  those  States  in  which  no  general  laws  had  been 
passed  for  that  purpose;  and  they  were  to  appoint  committees  for  conducting  the  business. 
All  officers  of  the  church  and  traveling  preachers  were  to  assist  in  securing  signatures  to  these 
addresses.  This  plan  was  to  be  continued  from  year  to  year  until  the  desired  end  had  been 
accomplished.  (Journal  of  the  General  Conferences,  Vol.  1,  pp.  40-41).  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  thus  virtually  organized  into  an  agency  for  anti-slavery  agitation. 

17  H.  C.  Northcott:  "Biography  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Northcott"  (1770-1854),  pp. 
88-89. 


22     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

ures  consistent  with  the  interests  of  civil  society"  be  taken  "to 
procure  eventually  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in  America."18 

In  Kentucky,  as  elsewhere,  the  anti-slavery  element  in  the 
church  displayed  considerable  activity  during  the  early  years  of 
the  state. 

The  Presbytery  of  Transylvania,  which  embraced  the  en 
tire  state  of  Kentucky,  resolved  in  1794  that  slaves  belonging  to 
the  members  of  that  body  should  be  taught  to  read  the  Scrip 
tures  and  should  be  prepared  for  freedom. l  9  Two  years  later  it 
earnestly  recommended  that  the  people  under  its  care  "emanci 
pate  such  of  their  slaves  as  they  may  think  fit  subjects  for  liberty, 
and  that  they  take  every  possible  measure,  by  teaching  their 
young  slaves  to  read,  and  giving  them  such  other  instruction  as 
may  be  in  their  power,  to  prepare  them  for  freedom."20 

At  this  early  date,  the  Presbytery  was  much  disturbed  by 
the  opposition  on  the  part  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  mem 
bers  not  only  to  the  institution  of  slavery  but  to  communion 
with  slaveholders.  The  controversy  became  so  serious  that  the 
matter  was  brought  before  the  General  Assembly  of  the  church 
in  1795.  That  body  appointed  a  committee  composed  of  David 
Rice  and  Dr.  Muir,  ministers,  and  Robert  Patterson,  an  elder, 
to  draft  a  letter  to  the  Presbytery  on  the  subject.  After  con 
siderable  discussion,  their  report  was  adopted.  The  letter  be 
gins  by  stating  that  the  General  Assembly  "hear  with  concern 
from  your  Commissioners  that  differences  of  opinion  with  re 
spect  to  holding  Christian  Communion  with  those  possessed  of 
slaves  agitate  the  mind  of  some  among  you  and  threaten  divi 
sions  which  may  have  the  most  ruinous  tendency."  The  Pres 
bytery  was  asked  to  use  forbearance  and  moderation  until  the 
General  Assembly  should  see  fit  to  take  a  more  decided  stand  on 
the  question.21  They  were  referred  to  the  previous  recommen 
dation  that  the  slaves  be  educated  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  prepared 
for  a  better  enjoyment  of  freedom  and  that  reasonable  meas 
ures  be  taken  to  procure  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in  Amer 
ica.22  Regardless  of  this  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  sub- 

>«  S.  G.  Baird:  "A  Collection  of  the  Acts,  Etc.,  of  the  Supreme  Judicatory  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,"  pp.  806-7. 

The  action  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  in  1787  on  the  question  of 
slavery  was  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  two  years  later. 
In  1795  the  action  of  the  assembly  of  1789  was  reaffirmed  and  some  rather  drastic  regulations 
adopted  concerning  manstealing. 

»  John  Robinson:  "The  Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,  p.  123;  Davidson: 
"History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  336.  The  Presbytery  of  Transyl 
vania  was  formed  in  1786  by  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

"  Robinson:     "The  Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,"  p.  124. 

11  Baird:  "A  Collection  of  the  Acts,  Etc.,  of  the  Supreme  Judicatory  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church,"  pp.  807-808. 

"  The  subject  of  slavery  came  before  the  General  Assembly  in  1793  and  again  in  1795, 
when  the  decision  of  that  body  on  the  subject  in  1789  was  reaffirmed.  (Robinson:  "The 
Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,"  PP-  17-18.) 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800  23 

ject  was  frequently  brought  before  the  Presbytery  and  on  one 
occasion,  1796,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted:  "That 
although  the  Presbytery  are  fully  convinced  of  the  great  evil  of 
slavery,  yet  they  view  the  final  remedy  as  alone  belonging  to  the 
civil  powers;  and  also  do  not  think  that  they  have  sufficient 
authority  from  the  word  of  God  to  make  it  a  term  of  church  com 
munion.  They,  therefore,  leave  it  to  the  conscience  of  the  breth 
ren  to  act  as  they  may  think  proper ;  earnestly  recommending  to 
the  people  under  their  care  to  emancipate  such  of  their  slaves  as 
they  may  think  fit  subjects  of  liberty;  and  that  they  also  take 
every  possible  measure,  by  teaching  their  young  slaves  to  read 
and  giving  them  such  other  instruction  as  may  be  in  their  power, 
to  prepare  them  for  the  enjoyment  of  liberty,  an  event  which 
they  contemplate  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  which  they 
hope,  will  be  accomplished  as  soon  as  the  nature  of  things  will 
admit."23  In  1797,  the  Presbytery  again  declared  slavery  to  be 
a  great  moral  evil,  but,  while  they  acknowledged  that  there 
might  be  exceptions,  they  were  unable,  even  though  they  dis 
cussed  the  subject  for  many  years,  to  answer  the  question,  "Who 
are  not  guilty  of  moral  evil  in  holding  slaves?"24 

In  1800,  the  West  Lexington  Presbytery  in  a  letter  to  the 
Synod  of  Virginia  spoke  of  slavery  as  a  subject  "likely  to  occasion 
much  trouble  and  division  in  the  churches  in  this  country."  It 
stated,  also,  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Kentucky  that  slave- 
holding  should  exclude  from  church  privileges,  but  it  hesitated 
to  decide  till  directed  by  superior  judicatories. 25  This  Presby 
tery  in  1802  prohibited  church  sessions  from  excluding  slave 
holders  from  communion  until  such  exclusion  should  be  sanc 
tioned  by  the  higher  authorities. 2  6 

The  ministers  of  the  church  seem  to  have  been  in  general 
staunch  emancipationists  and  a  very  large  majority  of  the  elders 
and  members  were  equally  opposed  to  the  continuance  of 
slavery.27  The  most  conspicuous  leader  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  during  these  years  was  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  whose 
activity  in  behalf  of  emancipation  in  the  constitutional  conven 
tion  of  1792  has  been  reviewed  in  the  preceding  chapter.  He  was 

"  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  336;  Robin 
son:  "The  Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,"  p.  123. 

14  Davidson:     "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  337. 
1  Ibid.,  p.  337.     The  West  Lexington  Presbytery  was  formed  in  1799. 

11  Ibid.,  p.  337.  By  1802,  the  number  of  Presbyterians  in  Kentucky  had  so  multiplied 
as  to  call  for  the  organization  of  a  Synod.  Accordingly  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  was  formed, 
which  was  composed  of  three  Presbyteries  and  thirty-seven  ministers. 

»'  Robinson:     "The  Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,"  p.  123. 


24     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

an  implacable  foe  of  slavery,  never  overlooking  an  opportunity 
to  use  his  influence  against  the  institution.  To  David  Rice  must 
be  given  much  of  the  credit  for  the  advanced  position  taken  by 
the  Presbyterians  of  Kentucky.28 

In  view  of  the  prominent  part  played  by  the  religious  denom 
inations  in  the  life  of  the  frontier,  the  significance  of  the  attitude 
of  the  churches  toward  slavery  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
The  opposition  to  the  constitution  of  1792  and  the  effort  to  pro 
vide  compensated  emancipation  in  1799  must  find  their  explana 
tion  in  part  in  the  attitude  of  the  members  of  the  frontier  churches. 
During  the  years  immediately  following  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1792,  special  efforts  were  made  by  David  Rice 
and  other  anti-slavery  leaders  to  gather  their  scattered  forces 
into  some  kind  of  permanent  organization  in  order  that  the 
various  branches  of  their  work  might  be  carried  on  in  a  system 
atic  and  efficient  way.  This  difficulty  had  been  met  in  the  States 
along  the  Atlantic  Coast  by  the  formation  of  abolition  societies, 2  9 
of  which  there  were  twelve  in  1791.  As  a  rule,  their  membership 
was  very  small  and  their  work  restricted  to  their  individual 
localities.  The  increased  opposition  to  the  slave  trade  and  the 
failure  of  Congress  to  legislate  against  it  led  them  to  widen 
the  scope  of  their  work.  Accordingly  delegates  from  the 
various  local  societies  met  in  Philadelphia  in  1794  and  perfected 
a  permanent  national  organization  under  the  name  of  the 
"American  Convention  of  Delegates  of  Abolition  Societies."30 

The  Kentucky  anti-slavery  workers  followed  the  plans  of 
the  eastern  societies.  During  the  early  part  of  1795  they  began, 
through  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  a  correspondence  with  William 
Rogers,  a  member  of  one  of  the  abolition  societies  in  Philadel 
phia,  concerning  the  organization  of  similar  societies  in  Kentucky. 
In  his  reply  Mr.  Rogers  stated  that  the  Philadelphia  society 
was  "much  pleased  with  your  endeavors  in  promoting  a  similar 

»  Bishop:  "Outline  of  the  Church  in  Kentucky,  Containing  the  Memoirs  of 
David  Rice,"  p.  83.  Rice's  dying  testimony  in  1816  gave  the  final  emphasis  to  his  condem 
nation  of  slavery,  a  feeling  which  he  shared  with  many  of  his  fellow  clergy.  "I  have  too  much 
participated  in  the  criminal  and  the  great  neglect  of  the  souls  of  slaves.  Though  we  live  at 
the  expense  of  those  unfortunate  creatures,  yet  we  withhold  from  them  a  great  part  of  the 
means  of  instruction  and  grace — many,  indeed,  deprive  them  of  all,  so  far  as  they  can.  This 
added  to  that  of  depriving  them  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  liberty,  is  the  crying  sin  of  our 
country;  and  for  this  I  believe  our  country  is  now  bleeding  at  a  thousand  veins." 

»  Before  1830  the  term  abolition  was  used  to  designate  every  plan  for  abolishing  slavery, 
including  gradual  compensated  emancipation.  After  this  time,  due  to  the  Garrisonian 
or  modern  abolition  movement,  it  was  used  to  apply  only  to  immediate,  uncompensated 
emancipation. 

"  "Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  First  Meeting  of  the  American  Convention, 
1794,"  Pamphlet;  M.  S.  Locke:  "Anti-Slavery  in  America,  1619-1808,"  p.  101;  A.  D.Adams: 
"Anti-Slavery  in  America,  1808-1831,"  p.  154.  There  were  only  nine  societies  in  the  American 
Convention  in  1794.  In  1818  a  new  constitution  was  adopted  and  the  name  changed  to 
"The  American  Convention  for  Promoting  the  Abolition  of  Slavery  and  Improving  the  Con 
dition  of  the  African  Race." 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800  25 

institution  in  Kentucky,  which,  should  it  take  place,  will  of 
course  receive  every  possible  aid  from  the  society  in  this  city."3 1 
The  Kentucky  societies  were  organized  as  proposed,  but 
almost  nothing  more  is  known  about  them.  In  the  minutes  of 
the  American  Convention  of  Delegates  of  Abolition  Societies  in 
1797,  the  Kentucky  societies  were  referred  to  a  number  of  times, 
although  they  were  not  represented  in  the  convention.  They 
appear,  however,  to  have  had  some  correspondence  with  the 
convention.32  A  correspondent  in  The  Knoxville  Gazette 
(Tennessee),  January  23,  1797,  in  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  all  those 
interested  in  the  organization  of  an  abolition  society,  mentioned 
the  existence  of  two  such  societies  in  Kentucky,  one  in  Phila 
delphia,  one  in  Baltimore,  one  in  Richmond,  and  one  in  Winches 
ter  (Virginia) .  The  work  of  these  societies  was  declared  to  be  to 
relieve  "such  persons  as  are  illegally  held  in  bondage;  to  effect 
their  relief  by  legal  means  alone  without  any  intention  to  injure 
the  rights  of  individuals,  not  to  take  negroes  from  their  legal 
masters  and  set  them  free  as  some  have  vainly  imagined;  but 
by  lawful  means  to  vindicate  the  cause  of  such  of  the  human 
race  as  are  lawfully  entitled  to  freedom  either  by  mixed  blood 
or  by  any  cause."33  More  liberal  emancipation  laws  were 
advocated  as  well  as  the  education  of  slaves  as  a  means  of  "pre 
paring  them  for  freedom."34 

Nothing  further  has  been  found  concerning  the  early  Ken 
tucky  societies.  They  were  doubtless  originated  through  the 
influence  of  the  Rev.  David  Rice  for  the  purpose  of  advancing 
the  cause  of  gradual  emancipation,  which  was  being  extensively 
advocated  in  the  state  at  that  time,  and  their  disappearance 
may  be  connected  with  the  failure  of  the  movement  in  the  con 
stitutional  convention  of  1799.  They  bear  the  distinction  of 
having  been  the  first  abolition  organizations  west  of  the  Appa 
lachian  Mountains,  preceding  by  eighteen  years  those  in  both 
Ohio  and  Tennessee.35 

The  eleventh  article  of  the  constitution  of  1792  provided 
for  a  vote  at  the  election  of  1797,  on  the  question  of  calling  a 
convention  to  amend  that  instrument  or  to  adopt  a  new  one. 

»  Draper  MSS..  Hist.  Miscel.,  1. 

"  "Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Fourth  Convention  of  Delegates,  1797,"  Ram- 
Jet,  bocieties  from  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  were 
represented  in  this  convention  and  societies  from  Delaware,  Rhod'e  Island,  and  Kentucky 
were  referred  to,  pp.  37,  41. 

"  The  Knoxville  Gazette.  January  23,  1797. 

14  Iota. 

"  Adams:  "Anti-Slavery  in  America,  1808-1831,"  pp.  264-267,  gives  a  list  of 
abolition  societies  and  the  date  of  organization  of  each.  The  Kentucky  societies  were  not 
known  to  her.  No  reference  to  them  has  been  found  in  any  secondary  work. 


26     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

If  the  vote  in  1797  should  be  favorable,  another  was  to  be  taken 
in  1 798. 3  6  In  both  years  more  votes  were  cast  for  the  convention 
than  against  it,  and  although  there  was  some  doubt  as  to  whether 
or  not  "a  majority  of  all  the  citizens  in  the  state  voting  for 
representatives"  had  voted  in  the  affirmative,37  the  legislature, 
being  "ripe  for  a  convention,"3 8  ordered  the  election  of  delegates. 

In  a  pamphlet  entitled  "No  Convention,"  which  John 
Breckinridge 3  9  published,  over  the  pen  name  of  Algernon  Sidney 
shortly  before  the  election  of  1798,  he  declares,  'The  eman 
cipation  of  our  slaves  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  objects  for  which 
the  people  wish  to  call  a  convention;  and  the  better  organization, 
or  total  destruction  of  the  Senate,  the  other. 

"It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  first  reflects  an  encomium 
upon  the  wisdom,  humanity  and  justice  of  our  countrymen, 
that  cannot  be  too  much  appreciated  or  too  warmly  applauded. 
It  discovers  the  philosophy  of  the  human  mind  marching  on 
boldly  to  oppose  tyranny  and  prejudice,  and  indicates  an  ap 
proaching  era  when  slavery  shall  be  driven  from  our  enviable 
country.  But  if  a  renovation  in  this  particular  be  the  object 
in  view,  you  have  surely  mistaken  the  price  necessary  to  carry 
so  important  a  work  into  execution,  as  well  as  to  organize  or 
make  any  change  in  your  constitution  at  all.*  *  *  Your  slaves  ought 
to  be  free;  but  let  us  not  liberate  others  at  the  probable  ex 
pense  of  our  own  freedom."40  Though  he  attached  considerable 
importance,  in  this  pamphlet,  to  the  slavery  issue,  his  opposition 
to  the  convention  was  based  mainly  on  the  demand  for  the 
abolition  of  the  Senate. 4 1 

It  is  not  apparent  what  may  have  been  the  relative  import 
ance  attached  by  voters  to  these  two  issues  in  1797,  but  it 
is  clear  that  as  the  contests  over  the  convention  progressed  the 
emancipation  issue  attracted  increasing  attention.  Sidney  and 

»•  Littell:     "Statute  Laws  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  p.  29. 

»  Marshall:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  2,  pp.  257-258;  R.  H.  Collins:  "History  of 
Kentucky,"  Vol.  2,  p.  61;  Butler:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  pp.  280-281;  The  Mirror,  February 
10,  24,  March  28,  1798. 

In  1797,  5,446  of  a  total  of  9,811  votes  and  in  1798,  8,804  of  a  total  of  11,853  votes  were 
cast  for  the  convention. 

«  Samuel  Hopkins  to  John  Breckinridge,  December  8,  1798.     Breckinridge  Papers. 

«•  John  Breckinridge  (1760-1806),  a  Virginian  by  birth,  was  a  member  of  one  of  the 
most  influential  Kentucky  families.  In  1798,  as  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  Legislature, 
in  collaboration  with  Thomas  Jefferson,  he  drew  up  and  himself  introduced  the  famous  "Ken 
tucky  Resolutions."  From  1801  to  1805  he  represented  Kentucky  in  the  United  States  Senate 
and  from  1805  until  his  death  in  1806  he  was  Attorney  General  in  Jefferson's  cabinet. 

The  Breckinridge  Papers,  from  which  considerable  material  for  this  and  other 
chapters  was  obtained,  contains  the  papers  of  John  Breckinridge,  William  Breckinridge, 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  John  Cabell  Breckinridge  and  other  members  of  the  family.  The 
author  was  given  permission  to  examine  this  valuable  collection,  which  is  deposited  in  the 
Congressional  Library,  but  which  has  not  yet  been  opened  for  public  use  by  the  owner,  Miss 
Sophonisba  P.  Breckinridge,  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

40  Breckinridge  Papers,  1798,  pamphlet  undated. 

"  Ibid. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800 

his  arguments  were  bitterly  assailed  in  a  hand  bill,  signed  "Keil- 
ing,"42  which  in  turn  was  answered  by  Sidney  in  a  most  scathing 
article  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette. 4  3  A  lively  exchange  of  hand 
bills  and  newspaper  articles  ensued,  in  which  a  number  of  people 
took  part. 4  4  One  of  the  hand  bills,  signed ' ' Junius' '  and  addressed 
to  "The  Electors  of  Franklin  County,"  enthusiastically 
advocates  a  convention  as  a  means  to  the  reorganization  of 
the  Senate  and  to  the  securing  of  other  reforms.  The  author 
manifests  no  desire  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  but  he  admits 
that  that  subject  was  attracting  more  and  more  attention.45 
Another  advocate  of  the  convention  said,  "The  man  of  landed 
property  is  told  that  agrarian  laws  will  be  passed;  and  the 
slaveholder  is  alarmed  by  the  fear  of  immediate  emancipation." 
This  he  attributed  to  the  enemies  of  the  convention  and  added 
that  no  citizen  had  "brought  forward  a  proposition  for  eman 
cipation."  He  asserted  also  that  no  one  desired  "an  immediate 
liberation  of  the  slaves,"  but  that  many  did  favor  a  gradual 
compensated  emancipation.  He  could  see  no  occasion  for  alarm 
on  the  question,  however,  since  any  constitutional  convention 
in  Kentucky  would  be  composed  largely  of  slaveholders  who, 
in  case  they  should  decide  upon  some  plan  of  emancipation, 
could  be  depended  upon  to  protect  the  slaveholders  from 
monetary  losses.46 

Breckinridge,  however,  was  less  certain  of  the  slave 
holders'  safety.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Shelby,  March  11, 
1798,  he  displayed  considerable  uneasiness  as  a  result  of  the 
wide-spread  discussion  by  the  general  public  and  press  of  a 
"speedy  emancipation  of  slaves  upon" some  principle."  He  says 
further,  "If  they  can  by  one  experiment  emancipate  our  slaves; 
the  same  principle  pursued,  will  enable  them  at  a  second  ex 
periment  to  extinguish  our  land  titles;  both  are  held  by  rights 
equally  sound."47 

In  view  of  his  subsequent  career,  the  connection  of  Henry 
Clay  with  the  anti-slavery  movement  of  this  period  deserves 
special  consideration.  It  is  probable  that  he  received  here  the 
impressions  that  were  to  determine  his  course  throughout  the 
controversy.  In  1798,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  published 
over  the  signature  "Scaevola"  a  series  of  articles  addressed  to 

"  Breckinridge  Papers,  1798,  undated. 

41  Kentucky  Gazette,  May  9,  1798. 

44  A  number  of  these  hand-bills  are  to  be  found  in  the  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1798. 

4'  Breckinridge  Papers,  dated  May  1,  1798. 

41  Stewart's  Kentucky  Herald,  April  17,  1798.     This  article  was  signed  "Voter." 

47  John  Breckinridge  to  Gov.  Shelby,  March  11.  1798,  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1798. 


28     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  16*50 

the  "Electors  of  Fayette  County,"48  in  which  he  discussed  at 
length  the  importance  of  the  slavery  issue  in  the  coming  con 
vention.49  In  the  number  for  April  25,  he  asserted  that  the 
convention  was  opposed  by  many  because  it  was  supported  by  the 
anti-slavery  party.  He  pointed  out  forcefully  the  reasonable 
ness  and  the  advantages  of  gradual  emancipation  and  declared 
that  if  the  convention  did  not  wish  to  abolish  slavery  it  should 
at  least  remove  the  prohibiting  clause  from  the  constitution  so 
that  the  legislature  could  take  up  the  subject  any  time  it  saw 
fit  to  do  so.  The  article  closed  with  the  following  arraignment 
of  slavery:  "All  America  acknowledges  the  existence  of  slavery 
to  be  an  evil  which,  while  it  deprives  the  slave  of  the  best  gifts 
of  Heaven,  in  the  end  injures  the  master,  too,  by  laying  waste 
his  lands,  enabling  him  to  live  indolently,  and  thus  contracting 
all  the  vices  generated  by  a  state  of  idleness.  If  it  be  this 
enormous  evil  the  sooner  we  attempt  its  destruction  the  better. 
It  is  a  subject  which  has  been  so  generally  canvassed  by  the 
public  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  all  the  reasons  which 
urge  to  a  conventional  interference."50 

The  result  of  these  discussions  was  a  larger  majority  for  the 
convention  in  1798  than  in  1797.61  How  far  this  may  be  an  ex 
pression  of  anti-slavery  strength  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  doubt 
less  all  anti-slavery  men  who  voted  favored  the  convention. 

When  we  come  to  the  choice  of  delegates  the  anti-slavery 
sentiment  emerges  more  clearly.  In  some  counties,  if  we  may 
trust  statements  made  long  afterwards,  and  by  pronounced  anti- 
slavery  men,  it  became  the  chief  issue,  and  candidates  pledged 
themselves,  if  elected,  to  support  or  to  oppose  a  gradual  emanci 
pation  clause  in  the  constitution.52  In  others,  the  question  was 
whether  or  not  the  owners  of  slaves  should  be  compensated  in 
case  of  gradual  emancipation.  It  appears  that  the  country  peo 
ple  were  becoming  united  against  the  town  people,  who  generally 
supported  emancipation.53  In  this  situation  the  leaders  in 
Fayette  County,  the  political  center  of  the  state,  and  one  of  the 
principal  slave-holding  communities  in  it,  laid  plans  "for  the 

«  Calvin  Colton:  "Works  of  Henry  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  209,  214;  Schurz:  "Life  of 
Henry  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  27. 

Henry  Clay  emigrated  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky  in  1797. 

"  Colton:     "Works  of  Henry  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  209. 

*>  The  Kentucky  Gazette,  April  25,  1798. 

il  In  1797  for  the  convention  5,446  out  of  9,814  votes  were  cast. 
In  1798  for  the  convention  8,804  out  of  11,513  votes  were  cast. 

11  William  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  16;  Speech  of  Robert  J. 
Breckinridge  in  Reply  to  Speech  of  Robert  Wickliffe,  October  12,  1840,  Breckinridge  Papers. 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge  was  a  son  of  John  Breckinridge. 

"  George  Nicholas  to  John  Breckinridge,  January  20,  1798.  Breckinridge  Papers 
for  1798. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800  29 

most  independent  and  principled  men  amongst  us  to  step  for 
ward  and  prevent  mischief."54  A  meeting  was  called  for  Jan 
uary  26,  1799,  at  Bryant  Station,  whose  purpose  was  to  formu 
late  a  common  policy  and  to  nominate  candidates  to  the  conven 
tion.  With  the  avowed  object  of  furnishing  an  example  to  other 
counties  by  enlisting  the  interest  and  securing  the  attendance 
of  leading  men,  delegates  were  invited  from  the  Militia  Compa 
nies  and  the  religious  societies  of  the  county. 5  5  Thus  was  formed 
a  body  commonly  known  as  Bryant  (Bryan's)  Station  Conven 
tion,  which  "decided  the  destinies  of  Kentucky  for  that  era."56 
Five  subjects  were  proposed  for  the  consideration  of  the  con 
vention:  1,  "no  emancipation  either  immediate  or  gradual;"  2, 
representation  according  to  population;  3,  a  legislature  of  two 
houses;  4,  the  courts;  5,  the  compact  with  Virginia  to  be  retained 
in  the  new  constitution.57 

The  convention  proved  to  be  well  attended58  and  included 
the  leading  men  in  the  county  among  whom  were  John  Breckin- 
ridge,  George  Nicholas,  and  Daniel  Logan.  After  nominating 
candidates,  among  them  John  Breckinridge,  it  drew  up  "a  Dec 
laration  to  be  made  by  Convention  Candidates,"  which  provided 
that  no  man  ought  to  be  voted  for  as  a  member  to  that  conven 
tion  who  would  not  subscribe  to  five  declarations,  one  of  which 
was  as  follows:  "I  do  declare  that  in  case  I  am  elected  to  the  Con 
vention,  I  will  be  decidedly  opposed  to  an  emancipation  of  the 
slaves,  either  immediate  or  gradual  without  paying  to  the  owners 
thereof  their  full  value  in  money,  previous  to  such  emanci 
pation."59  While  this  declaration  manifests  no  opposition  to 
compensated  emancipation  it  is  fairly  certain  that  the  men  back 
of  it  were  antagonistic  to  any  sort  of  emancipation.  Since  the 
anti-slavery  forces  were  strong  in  Fayette  County,  it  is  not  im 
probable  that  the  political  leaders  were  forced  to  assume  this 
conciliatory  attitude.  The  declaration  seems  to  have  been  a 
compromise  and  was  so  regarded  in  many  sections  of  the  state. 
While  the  Bryant  Station  Convention  was  often  referred  to  both 


"  Samuel  H°Pkins  to  John  Breckinridge,  December  8,  1798.     Breckinridge  Papers  for 

11  Stewart's  Kentucky  Herald,  March  12,  1799.     See  also  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799. 

"  Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  ***.  1840,  p.  7;  Daniel  Logan  to  John  Breckinridge, 
January  25  1799,  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799.  A  hand-bill  (Breckinridge  Papers),  signed 
voter  and  addressed  to  the  "Inhabitants  of  Fayette  County"  describes  in  detail  the 
meeting  of  "The  Bryant  Station  Convention." 


Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  ***,  1840,  p.  7.     See  also  handbill,  Ibid. 
Stewart's  Kentucky  Herald,  March  12,  1799. 
X)  and  400. 

••  Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  ***.  pp.  7-8. 


"  Stewart's  Kentucky  Herald,  March  12,1799.     The  attendance  was  estimated  at  be 
tween  300  and  400. 


30     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

as  an  anti-slavery  and  as  a  pro-slavery  body,60  the  information 
at  hand  seems  to  show  that  it  was  a  moderately  pro-slavery  con 
vention  dominated  by  men  who  were  more  interested  in  prevent 
ing  radical  action  against  slavery  than  in  perpetuating  the  insti 
tution. 

In  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention 
a  few  weeks  later,  the  Bryant  Station  candidates  were  successful 
and  the  leaders  in  Fayette  County,  particularly  John  Breckin- 
ridge  and  George  Nicholas,  were  active  in  the  selection  of  dele 
gates  elsewhere  in  the  state.  Efforts  were  made  to  bring  the 
right  men  forward  and  these  efforts  appear  to  have  met  with  a 
favorable  response. 6 1 

The  cause  of  the  pro-slavery  party  was  doubtless  assisted 
by  the  passage  in  June  and  July,  1798,  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
Acts,  which  in  Kentucky  as  elsewhere  aroused  great  opposition 
to  the  federal  administration  and  resulted  in  November  in  the 
passage  of  the  famous  " Kentucky  Resolutions."  The  importance 
of  and  the  general  interest  in  these  measures  affected  the  choice  of 
delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  by  bringing  forward 
trusted  leaders  who  had  been  temporarily  set  aside  because  of 
their  pro-slavery  inclinations.  Local  issues  were  now  sub 
ordinated  to  the  desire  to  present  a  solid  front  to  the  aggres 
sions  of  the  national  government.  When  in  the  midst  of  this 
excitement  the  elections  for  delegates  to  the  convention  were 
held,  the  conservative  pro-slavery  element  was  found  to  be  in 
the  majority.63 


•°  See  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799;  especially  James  Hopkins  to  John  Breckinridge, 
January  27,  1799,  and  George  Nicholas  to  John  Breckinridge,  February  16,  1799.  See  also 
Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge***,  pp.  7f. 

The  writer  referred  to  above  in  Stewart's  Kentucky  Herald  for  March  12,  1799, 
said:  "When  you  consider  that  the  very  Gentlemen  that  differed  from  you  as  to  the  expedi 
ency  of  calling  a  Convention,  and  made  every  exertion  to  thwart  your  wishes  are  now  the 
warm  supporters  of  the  project  from  Bryan's  Station." 

11  Samuel  Hopkins,  of  Christian  County,  in  a  letter  to  John  Breckinridge,  February 
4,  1799  (Breckinridge  Papers,  1799),  in  a  reply  to  a  letter  from  Breckinridge  inquiring  about 
the  sentiment  in  that  county  and  asking  him  to  announce  Hopkins'  candidacy  there  stated 
that  he  had  complied  with  the  request;  however,  he  feared  that  his  opponent,  a  Mr.  Ewing, 
would  be  elected.  He  further  stated  that  "the  importance  of  the  present  era  ought  to  be  truly 
Estimated  by  every  citizen — this  convention  business,  I  like  it  not. — I  hate  experiments  upon 
government."  In  a  letter  to  Breckinridge  dated  July  15,  1799,  he  stated  that  he  had  been 
defeated  in  the  convention  election.  He  said,  however,  "I  feel  rejoiced  that  the  disorganizes 
are  ousted  in  the  late  elections."  Breckinridge  had  also  considerable  correspondence  with 
his  political  friends  in  Hardin  County.  In  a  reply  to  one  of  his  letters,  John  Mclntyre  said 
that  the  convention  elections  "ought  to  draw  the  attention  of  every  man  who  has  the  good 
of  his  country  at  heart — at  so  critical  a  moment.*  *  *  Our  liberties  and  property  are  likely  to  be 
exposed  to  ignorant  and  designing  men."  (Breckinridge  Papers,  February  10,  1799.)  See 
also  Ben  Helm  to  John  Breckinridge,  February  17,  1799,  and  W.  E.  Boxwell  (Harrison  County) 
to  John  Breckinridge,  May  12,  1799.  (Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799.) 

"  In  speaking  of  this  election  William  Lewis  in  a  letter  to  John  Breckinridge,  July  18, 
1799  (Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799),  said:  "I  am  pleased  to  hear  that  your  convention  will 
not  effect  an  emancipation  at  this  time,  as  it  would  be  a  wretched  piece  of  policy  in  excluding 
all  wealthy  emigrants  possessing  that  property  from  seeking  an  asylum  in  the  State.  They 
are  certainly  the  most  desirable  emigrants,  on  account  not  only  of  the  wealth  they  introduce, 
but  their  condition  and  polite  manners — it  is  from  those  that  your  character  as  a  State  is  to  be 
formed — exclude  this  class  from  your  citizens  and  what  will  the  bottom  be?  A  crude  un 
digested  mass."  See  also  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  21-22. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1792-1800  31 

The  Convention  assembled  July  22,  1799.  Considerable 
time  was  devoted  to  slavery.64  The  question  of  emancipation 
was  raised  during  the  early  days  of  the  session  and,  in  general, 
the  plans  discussed,  although  differing  in  many  particulars, 
provided  for  a  slow  and  gradual  emancipation.  A  certain  date 
was  to  be  fixed.  All  born  before  that  date  were  to  be  slaves  for 
life  and  all  born  after  it  were  to  be  free  at  a  specified  age.  It 
does  not  appear  that  any  one  believed  in  or  advocated  immediate 
emancipation.65  The  proposal  to  insert  in  the  constitution  a 
clause  providing  for  gradual  emancipation  was  finally  decided 
in  the  negative.  A  proposal  to  place  the  power  of  providing 
for  general  emancipation  in  the  hands  of  the  legislature  was  then 
taken  under  consideration.  This  matter  had  been  extensively 
discussed  during  the  election  of  delegates  and  some  of  the  anti- 
slavery  men,  including  Henry  Clay,  were  desirous  of  having 
the  power  of  removing  slavery  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  legis 
lature  if  it  should  prove  impossible  to  adopt  a  constitutional 
provision  for  its  ultimate  extinction.66  No  change  was  made  in 
the  constitution  in  this  respect.  The  power  to  extinguish 
slavery  was  not  granted  to  the  legislature,  although  Robert  J. 
Breckinridge  forty  years  later  maintained  that  it  was  the  inten 
tion  of  the  convention  to  do  this.67  The  language  of  Article 
VII  of  the  Constitution  of  1799  is  substantially  the  same  as 
that  of  Article  IX  of  the  Constitution  of  1792.  The  legislature 
could  pass  a  law  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves  but  only  with 
the  consent  of  the  owner  and  with  full  compensation  in  money. 6  8 

14  A  few  scattered  printed  reports  including  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  constitution 
are  in  the  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799. 

••  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1799.  Henry  Clay  in  a  speech  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  Feb 
ruary  7.  1839  (Annals  of  Congress,  1839,  Vol.  7,  p.  354),  said:  "Forty  years  ago  the  question 
was  agitated  in  the  State  of  Kentucky  of  a  gradual  emancipation  of  the  slaves  within  its  limits.*  *  * 
No  one  was  rash  enough  to  think  of  throwing  loose  upon  the  community,  ignorant  and 
unprepared,  the  untutored  slaves  of  the  State." 

••  The  Kentucky  Gazette,  April  25,  1798.  M.  J.  Howard  during  the  early  days  of 
the  convention  sent  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  constitution  to  John  Breckinridge  for  criticism. 
In  a  letter  which  accompanied  it  (Breckinridge  Papers,  undated),  he  said  in  regard  to  the 
above  proposal,  "As  whatever  might  be  here  said,  restricting  or  not  restricting  the  Legislature, 
with  regard  to  emancipation,  would  probably  have  but  little  effect,  as  the  Body  of  the  People 
have  at  all  times,  an  indefeasible  and  inalienable  Right  to  alter  or  abolish  their  Constitution 
of  Civil  Government,  whenever  they,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  think  fit,  or  necessary  for 
their  welfare,  or  benefit." 

«  Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  *  *  *,  p.  8.  Mr.  Breckinridge  further  asserted  that  a 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  convention  adhered  to  the  declarations  adopted  by  the  Bryant 
Station  Convention  and  that  they  not  only  intended  to  give  the  Legislature  a  limited  power 
to  provide  for  general  emancipation,  but  did  give  it  full  power  to  emancipate  the  post  nati 
W1  j  u0riwithout  compensation.  Although  Mr.  Breckinridge  had  access  to  his  father's  papers 
and  had  met  during  his  boyhood  many  members  of  the  convention,  his  interpretation  of  the 
slave  clause  in  the  constitution  whether  right  or  wrong  was  not  that  given  it  by  either  the 
legislature  or  the  people  generally  during  the  years  following. 

•  "  T,he  clause  in  tne  proposed  constitution  dealing  with  the  importation  of  slaves  caused 
considerable  discussion.  Some  wished  to  allow  free  importations,  while  others  urged  strict 
constitutional  restrictions.  A  third  class  desired  to  place  the  entire  matter  in  the  hands  of 
the  legislature.  In  this  as  in  other  points  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon,  by  which  the 
provision  in  the  constitution  of  1792  for  a  limited  legislative  control  was  adopted  with  an 
additional  provision  regarding  the  trial  of  slaves  for  felony. 


32     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

Similarly  the  constitutional  provisions  of  1792  in  regard  to 
bringing  slaves  into  the  state  were  repeated  in  the  constitution 
of  1799. 

The  exact  strength  of  the  an ti -slavery  element  in  the  con 
vention  of  1799  is  not  known.69  Henry  Clay  once  said,  in 
this  connection,  that  "The  proposition  in  Kentucky  for  gradual 
emancipation,  did  not  prevail;  but  it  was  sustained  by  a  large 
and  respectable  minority."70  And  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  in 
the  pamphlet  published  in  1840  asserted  that  slavery  was 
ingrafted  on  the  constitution  by  "no  great  majority"  and  only 
"after  a  most  violent  conflict."71  These  statements  are  well 
sustained  by  the  literature  of  the  period. 

»  Mr.  Birney  in  his  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  21,  says:  "If  the  convention 
could  have  been  held  in  May,  1798,  immediately  after  the  election,  Kentucky  would  have 
been  made  a  free  state  and  the  causes  of  the  civil  war  destroyed  in  the  germ."  This  con 
clusion  was  based  on  the  number  of  so-called  anti-slavery  votes  in  favor  of  the  convention 
in  the  elections  of  1797  and  1798.  But  since  a  number  of  important  questions,  of  which  slavery 
was  only  one,  were  involved  at  that  time,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  anti-slavery  element 
alone  forced  the  call  for  the  convention.  The  defeat  of  emancipation  he  attributed  to  the 
fact  that  local  issues  were  eliminated  by  the  national  questions  growing  out  of  the  passage 
by  Congress  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  Though  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  anti-slavery 
strength  was  greatly  weakened  by  these  measures,  nothing  has  been  found  to  indicate  even 
the  probability  that  the  majority  of  the  population  in  either  1798  or  1799  favored  emanci 
pation. 

»  Colton:     "Works  of  Henry  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  216-217. 

71  "Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  ***,"  p.  7.  By  1800  slavery  had  been  abolished  or 
plans  of  gradual  emancipation  adopted  in  the  Northwest  Territory  and  in  all  the  states  north 
of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  Line,  with  the  exception  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  which  followed 
in  1804. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  IN  KENTUCKY 

1800-1830 


CHAPTER   III 

The  emancipationists  were  indeed  defeated  in  the  consti 
tutional  convention  of  1799  but  they  by  no  means  accepted 
their  defeat  as  final.  On  the  contrary,  they  made  attempts 
almost  every  year  to  secure  the  passage  of  a  bill  ordering  that  the 
sense  of  the  people  be  taken  on  calling  a  new  convention.1 
These  bills  frequently  passed  the  House.  Although  they  were 
designed  to  secure  only  the  gradual,  not  the  immediate,  aboli 
tion  of  slavery, 2  the  pro-slavery  men  viewed  with  such  un 
easiness  and  alarm  every  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  anti-slavery 
minority  to  reopen  the  question  in  any  form  that  the  bills  were 
always  defeated  in  the  Senate.  Niles,  in  his  Weekly  Register, 
summed  up  the  situation  in  these  words:  "In  Kentucky,  I  am 
told  by  several  gentlemen  of  high  standing,  there  is  so  strong 
an  opposition  to  slavery,  that  the  chief  slave-holders  have  long 
feared  to  call  a  convention  to  alter  the  constitution,  though 
much  desired,  lest  measures  should  be  adopted  that  might 
lead  to  gradual  emancipation."  He  then  predicted  that  before 
many  years  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri  "would  follow 
the  lead  of  Pennsylvania  and  cease  to  be  slaveholding  states  as 
well  from  principle  as  from  interest."3 

Slavery  was  brought  before  the  legislature  in  many  other 
ways.  Bills  intended  to  encourage  voluntary  emancipation, 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  slave,  and  to  secure  the  en 
actment  of  more  rigid  importation  laws  were  repeatedly  in 
troduced.  The  advocates  of  these  measures  declared  openly 
that  the  purpose  of  such  legislation  was  to  prepare  the  state  for 
gradual  emancipation  through  a  change  in  the  constitution.4 

The  question  of  slavery  was  brought  before  the  people  of 
Kentucky  in  1819  and  1820  in  connection  with  the  discussions 
in  Congress  concerning  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the 

li(  Col.  W.  F.  Evdns,  in  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Kentucky,  in  1838 
said:  From  an  examination  of  the  Journal  you  will  discover  that  the  Bill  has  been  intro 
duced  almost  every  year  since  the  year  1802."  (Maysville  Eagle,  February  10,  1838).  See 
also  Shelbyville  Examiner,  January  5,  1833. 

«  Kentucky  Reporter,  February  17,  1823;  Nov.  24,  1823;  Nov.  22,  1824;  Western 
Luminary,  August  29,  1828;  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  August  30,  1828;  The  Argus, 
December  25,  1817;  Maysville  Eagle,  December  16,  1827. 

•  Niles   Weekly  Register,  Vol.  18,  p.  27  (1820). 

•  Kentucky  Reporter,  November  22,  1824;  Argus,  November  17,  1817. 


34     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

Union.  As  in  other  sections  of  the  country,  the  subject  received 
wide  attention.  While  the  people  of  the  state  generally  followed 
Henry  Clay  in  his  demand  for  the  admission  of  Missouri,  there 
were  numerous  expressions  of  opinion  and  in  a  few  instances 
resolutions  adopted  by  mass  meetings  to  the  contrary.  The 
fact  that  the  controversy  had  no  considerable  influence  upon 
the  anti-slavery  movement  in  Kentucky,  but  was  usually 
treated  as  a  political  question,  appeared  clearly  in  the  resolu 
tions  passed  by  the  Kentucky  legislature,  which  refrained 
"from  expressing  an  opinion  either  in  favor  of  or  against  the 
principles  of  slavery,"  but  which  was  intent  upon  "preserving 
the  State  sovereignties  in  their  present  rights."5 

It  can  not  be  said  that  the  churches  contributed  much  to 
the  cause  of  emancipation  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  century. 
The  years  1800-1830  have  been  characterized  by  students  of  the 
anti-slavery  movement  as  the  period  of  stagnation  and  this 
was  unquestionably  true  in  so  far  as  the  attitude  of  the  churches 
toward  slavery  was  concerned.  Conservative  treatment  of 
questions  arising  from  slaveholding  was  the  rule  and  in  this  way 
the  churches  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  liberalism  of  the 
Revolutionary  period  was  rapidly  declining. 

The  action  of  the  Methodist  General  Conferences  of  1804 
and  1808  is  much  less  pronounced  in  its  opposition  to  slavery 
than  that  of  the  preceding  Conferences.6  The  Conference  of 
1804  abandoned  the  plan  adopted  in  1800  of  memorializing  state 
legislatures,  and  three  southern  states,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia,  were  expressly  exempted  from  the  rules 

•  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  17,  p.  344.     The  prevailing  opinion  was  that  expressed 
by  the  Louisville  Public  Advertiser,  December  6,  1819,  when  it  said:     "It  appears  that  measures 
have  been  taken  in  New  Jersey  and  the  principal  Eastern  cities  to  prevent  the  introduction 
of  slavery  into  Missouri.     Though  we  have  never  been  the  advocate  of  slavery  in  any  form, 
we  are  sorry  to  discover  that  questions  are  to  be  urged,  perhaps  principles  enforced  in  Congress 
which  belong  exclusively  to  the  polity  of  the  several  States  and  the  rejection  or  admission  of 
which  should  be  left  to  the  State  or  States  concerned.     Missouri  has  obtained  the  requisite 
population — she  demands  the  right  of  self  government — to  be  admitted  into  the  Union  with  all 
the  privileges  and  immunities  of  her  sister,  Alabama.*  **  Neither  the  principles  of  humanity 
nor  the  letter  nor  spirit  of  the  Constitution  can,  in  our  opinion,  justify  our  Eastern  brethren 
in  the  course  they  are  now  pursuing  toward  the  people  of  Missouri.     We  cannot  believe  they 
have  adopted  this  course  from  selfish  or  sordid  motives.     They  cannot  doubt  the  attach 
ment  of  the  Western  people  to  the  Union,  and  we  trust  they  do  not  anticipate  any  dangerous 
innovation  upon  their  rights  or  pursuits  should  we  eventually  predominate  in  the  councils 
of  the  Nation.     We  must,  therefore,  attribute  what  we  deem  an  improper  interference  in  the 
affairs  of  Missouri  to  the  want  of  information  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  as  it  really  exists." 
The  Western  Monitor,  January  18,  1820,  said:     "The  people  of  Missouri  claim,  and  we  think 
justly,  the  privilege  of  being  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  States, 
and  of  engrafting  into  their  Constitution  such  provisions  as  they  may  choose;  unrestrained 
except  by  the  necessity  of  rendering  it  republican  and  consistent  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.*  *  *  We  deprecate  as  much  as  any  of  our  Eastern  brethren  the  existence  of  the 
evil  which  has  been  entailed  upon  us.     But  we  deny  the  possibility  of  suddenly  removing 
it  by  legislative  acts.     It  is  not  now  a  question  of  whether  it  should  be  established  in  Missouri. 
It  is  there  already  and  we  hesitate  not  to  say  Congress  cannot  eradicate  it.*  *  *  We  are  decidedly 
of  the  opinion  that  Congress  has  no  constitutional  right  to  prescribe  the  conditions  mentioned 
as  we  are  equally  well  convinced  that  no  good  could  possibly  result  from  exercising  the  right 
if  they  possessed  it." 

•  See  supra,  pp.  20,  21. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1800-1830  35 

as  to  slavery.  The  Conference  of  1808  went  further.  It  voted 
to  strike  from  the  discipline  all  but  the  first  two  paragraphs 
of  the  section  dealing  with  slavery.  This  removed  for  all  time 
every  syllable  respecting  slave-holding  among  private  members. 
It  must  be  said,  however,  that  this  action  was  due  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  numerous  difficulties  encountered  by  the  General 
Conference  in  enforcing  its  decrees  in  the  southern  states  where 
statutory  enactments  often  conflicted  with  the  rules  of  the 
General  Conference.  In  some  states  even  voluntary  emanci 
pation  could  be  accomplished  only  by  special  action  on  the 
part  of  the  legislature.7  The  Conference  of  1824  amended 
the  section  on  slavery  for  the  last  time  until  1860,  but  the 
changes  were  unimportant;  and  by  1828  the  unwillingness 
of  the  central  authority  of  the  church  to  take  any  action  was 
so  great  that,  although  it  still  condemned  slavery  as  an  insti 
tution,  it  tabled  a  resolution  providing  a  method  of  dealing  with 
the  inhumanity  of  members  toward  their  Negro  servants. 
Reaction  could  go  no  further.8 

Notwithstanding  the  reluctance  of  the  General  Confer 
ence  to  undertake  the  regulation  of  a  matter  fraught  with 
so  much  danger  to  the  integrity  of  the  church,  the  Methodists  of 
Kentucky  appear  to  have  maintained  a  commendable  oppo 
sition  to  the  domestic  slave  trade,  concerning  which  the  Gen 
eral  Conference  in  1808  instructed  the  Annual  Conferences  to 
"form  their  own  regulations"9,  and  likewise  to  slaveholding 
on  the  part  of  the  officials  of  the  church.  In  answer  to  the 
query,  "What  method  shall  be  taken  with  those  members  of 
our  society  that  shall  enter  into  the  slave  trade? "the  Western 
Conference,  which  embraced  the  region  west  of  the  Appala 
chian  Mountains,  in  1808,  instructed  the  circuit  preachers 
to  summon  before  the  quarterly  meeting  all  persons  charged 
with  buying  or  selling  slaves  with  speculative  motives  and  if 
the  Conference  should  find  upon  examination  that  the  charges 
were  sustained  the  persons  were  to  be  expelled  from  the  society. 

7  The  attitude  of  the  General  Conference  toward  action  by  the  church  on  the  subject 
of  slavery  is  given  by  the  Conference  of  1816  as  follows:  "We  most  sincerely  believe,  and 
declare  it  as  our  opinion,  that  slavery  is  a  moral  evil.  But  as  the  laws  of  our  country  do  not 
admit  of  emancipation  without  a  special  act  of  the  legislature,  in  some  places,  nor  admit  of 
the  slave  so  liberated  to  enjoy  freedom,  we  cannot  adopt  any  rule  by  which  we  can  compel 
our  members  to  liberate  their  slaves;  and  as  the  nature  of  the  cases  in  buying  and  selling  are 
various  and  complex,  we  do  not  think  it  possible  to  devise  any  rule  sufficiently  specific  to 
meet  them.  But  to  go  so  far  as  we  can,  consistent  with  the  laws  of  our  country  and  the 
nature  of  things,  to  do  away  with  the  evil,  and  remove  the  curse  from  the  Church  of  God." 
(Journal  of  the  General  Conferences,  Vol.  1,  p.  170.) 

»  This  summary  is  taken  largely  from  a  manuscript  thesis  prepared  by  Professor  T.  N. 
Norwood  of  Alfred  University  on  "The  Slavery  Schism  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
A  Study  of  Slavery  and  Ecclesiastical  Politics."  Cornell  University  Library. 

•  Journal  of  the  General  Conferences,  Vol.  1,  pp.  44,  60,  93,  170. 


36     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

This  action  is  representative  of  the  attitude  of  the  Methodists 
toward  the  domestic  slave  trade  throughout  the  period.10 

In  Kentucky  there  was  no  relaxation  from  the  rule  forbid 
ding  ministers  to  hold  slaves.  Peter  Cartwright,  for  fifty  years 
a  presiding  elder  in  this  region,  testified  that  "In  Kentucky 
our  rules  of  discipline  on  slavery  were  pretty  generally  enforced, 
and  especially  on  our  preachers,  traveling  and  local.  Whenever 
a  traveling  preacher  became  the  owner  of  a  slave  or  slaves,  he 
was  required  to  record  a  bill  of  emancipation,  or  pledge  himself 
to  do  so;  otherwise  he  would  forfeit  his  ministerial  office.  And 
under  no  circumstances  could  a  local  preacher  be  ordained 
a  deacon  or  an  elder  if  he  was  a  slaveholder,  unless  he  gave  the 
church  satisfactory  assurances  that  he  would  emancipate  at 
a  proper  time."1 1 

The  course  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  with  respect  to 
slavery  in  Kentucky  was  not  substantially  different  from  that 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  gradually  receded  from  the  position 
adopted  in  1795, 12  until,  in  1816,  it  merely  pronounced  slavery 
a  "mournful  evil"  and  "a  gross  violation  of  the  most  precious 
and  sacred  rights  of  human  nature."  After  that,  it  became 
increasingly  evident  that  the  denomination  was  to  rely  upon 
words  rather  than  deeds. 1 3  The  successive  General  Assemblies 
pointed  with  pride  to  former  utterances  against  slavery  and 
apparently  considered  them  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  most  zealous 
reformer  while  the  enforcement  of  existing  regulations  became 
more  and  more  lax  as  slavery  took  a  firmer  grip  upon  the  south 
ern  states  and  as  hostile  legislation  made  their  enforcement 
more  difficult.  There  were,  however,  occasional  exceptions. 
Thus  in  1809  the  session  of  the  Concord  Church  (Kentucky) 
suspended  a  member  for  exposing  for  sale  at  public  auction  a 
Negro  boy,  and  upon  appeal  to  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  the  act 
was  affirmed.14 


18  Peter  Cartwright:  "Fifty  Years  a  Presiding  Elder,"  p.  53f.  See  also  Bishop  As- 
bury's  Journal,  Vol.  3,  p.  290;  Redford:  "History  of  Methodism  in  Kentucky,"  Vol.  2,  p.  37. 

»  "Autobiography  of  Peter  Cartwright,  The  Backwoods  Preacher,"  p.  195.  See 
also,  Northcott:  "Biography  of  Benjamin  Northcott,"  p.  89.  In  a  few  communities  in 
Kentucky  attempts  were  made  to  enforce  rigidly  all  the  rules  of  the  church  regarding  slavery. 
The  most  important  instance  was  that  of  the  Hartford  Circuit  (North  Central  Kentucky), 
which  was  continually  agitated  by  the  subject  from  1804  to  1825.  (Redford:  "History  of 
Methodism  in  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1,  p.  260f.) 

"  See  supra,  pp.  21-24. 

"  Baird:     "Collection  of  Acts,  Etc.  ***  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  pp.  809ff. 

The  General  Assembly  in  1816  also  directed  slaveholders  "to  continue  and  increase 
their  exertions  to  effect  a  total  abolition  of  slavery,"  with  "no  greater  delay  than  a  regard  to 
the  public  welfare  demands,"  and  recommended  that  if  a  "Christian  professor  in  our  com 
munion  shall  sell  a  slave  who  is  also  in  communion  with  our  Church"  without  the  consent 
of  the  slave,  the  seller  should  be  suspended  till  he  had  repented  and  made  reparation. 

14  Robinson:  "Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,"  p.  53.  The  Synod  of  Kentucky 
was  established  in  1802. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1800-1830  37 

The  period  is  noteworthy  in  respect  to  the  awakened  in 
terest  in  the  education  of  the  slaves,  in  which  the  Presbyterians 
played  a  considerable  part.  As  early  as  1809,  the  Synod  of 
Kentucky  directed  the  Presbyterians  to  take  such  action  "as 
to  them  might  seem  most  prudent"  to  secure  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  slaves  and  also  the  humane  and  Christian 
treatment  of  them.15  It  does  not  appear  that  much  was 
accomplished  for  a  few  years  after  this  action  was  taken;  but, 
in  1825,  a  renewed  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  slaves  was  dis 
played  in  the  Synod 1 6  and  the  matter  was  also  frequently  men 
tioned  in  the  Western  Luminary,  the  Presbyterian  paper  of 
the  state.  Thereupon,  many  ministers  for  the  first  time  held 
special  meetings  for  the  slaves  and  organized  schools  for  their 
religious  instruction.17  This  was  thought  to  be  necessary 
both  for  an  appreciation  of  the  Christian  religion  and  as  a  prep 
aration  for  freedom.  In  the  following  year  (1826)  fifteen 
Presbyterian  schools  for  the  people  of  color  were  reported  to 
the  annual  meeting.18  From  this  date  until  the  end  of  the 
slavery  period  the  Presbyterians  of  the  state  displayed  an  ever- 
increasing  interest  in  the  general  welfare  of  the  slave  population. 

The  records  of  the  Baptist  churches  of  Kentucky  revealed 
to  a  far  greater  extent  the  local  contests  that  were  being  waged 
by  certain  bold  spirits  in  behalf  of  anti-slavery.  This  was  to 
be  expected  in  view  of  the  absence  of  a  centralized  government 
in  the  Baptist  church  and  in  view  of  the  greater  opportunity 
thus  afforded  local  controversies  to  find  expression  in  the  associa 
tions.  We  have  seen  that  at  a  very  early  day  there  were  dis 
sensions  among  the  Kentucky  Baptists x  9  and  these  dissensions 
presently  became  so  acute  that  a  number  of  associations  en 
deavored  to  prevent  the  discussion  of  the  question  of  slavery 
in  the  pulpit.20  In  this  the  associations  were  assuming  the 
conservative  part  played  by  the  central  authorities  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian  churches. 

The  Elkhorn  Association  in  1805  resolved  that  "this  Asso 
ciation  judges  it  improper  for  ministers,  churches  or  Associations 

15  Robinson:     "Presbyterian  Church  and  Slavery,"  p.  53. 

Davidson:     "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  338. 

17  Ibid.  See  also,  John  Breckinridge  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  December  11,  1827 
(Breckmndge  Papers  for  1827).  He  states  that  it  is  his  wish  that  an  acre  of  ground  be  set 
aside  on  his  tract  for  the  African  Church. 

"  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  338.  See  also 
the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Vol.  7,  pp.  158,  140;  Vol.  8,  pp.  47,  172,  173,  and  the 
files  of  the  Western  Luminary  for  that  period. 

»  See  supra,  pp.  loff. 

"  Spencer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  184;  Vol.  2,  pp.  17,  27, 
120,  235.  The  most  notable  instances  were  those  in  the  Elkhorn,  Bracken,  Cumberland, 
and  North  District  Associations. 


38     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

to  meddle  with  emancipation  from  slavery,  or  any  other  polit 
ical  subject;  and  as  such  we  advise  ministers  and  churches  to 
have  nothing  to  do  therewith  in  their  religious  capacities."21 
Similarly  the  Cumberland  Association  in  1815  in  answering 
the  query,  "Is  it  right  to  uphold  hereditary  and  perpetual 
slavery?"  made  the  following  reply:  "We  conceive  that  all 
nations,  by  nature,  have  a  right  to  equal  freedom.  But  as  we 
are  involved,  in  our  nation,  with  hereditary  slavery,  we  think 
it  would  be  best  to  wait  for  the  dispensation  of  Providence,  and 
pray  to  God  for  the  happy  year  of  their  deliverance  to  com 
mence."22 

The  acts  of  these  associations  did  not  check  the  agitation 
as  had  been  expected,  but  only  tended  to  increase  and  inten 
sify  it.  In  October,  1805,  the  Bracken  Association  brought 
five  charges  before  the  North  District  Association  against  the 
Rev.  David  Barrow,  the  ablest  preacher  in  the  body,  which 
pertained  to  his  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  The 
North  District  Association,  however,  accepted  his  explanations 
and  apologies. 2  3  This  action  was  not  satisfactory  to  a  number 
of  the  churches  that  had  determined  to  secure  his  expulsion. 
Consequently  the  matter  came  before  the  Association  again  in 
October,  1806,  when  he  was  again  charged  with  "preaching  the 
doctrines  of  emancipation  to  the  hurt  and  injury  of  the  brother 
hood."24  Mr.  Barrow  refused  to  alter  either  his  mode  of 
preaching  or  his  attitude  toward  slavery,  whereupon  he  was 
publicly  expelled  from  the  Association,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  church  at  Mount 
Sterling,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 2  5  This  action  was  annulled 
and  revoked  in  the  following  year  after  three  churches  and  two 

11  Spencer:     "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  2,  p.  17. 

«  Ibid.,  Vol.  2,  p.  235. 

11  The  anti-slavery  agitation  in  the  Baptist  Church  in  Kentucky  is  discussed  in  Rev. 
David  Benedict's  "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination"  (1813),  Vol.  2,  pp.  231-2,  236,  245ff . 
Benedict  spent  several  months  during  1810  and  1811  visiting  the  various  churches  and  associa 
tions  of  Kentucky.  The  subject  is  more  fully  discussed  by  the  Rev.  David  Barrow  in  a  pamph 
let  published  in  1808,  entitled,  "Involuntary,  Absolute,  Hereditary  Slavery  Examined  on  the 
Principles  of  Nature,  Reason,  Justice  and  Scripture,"  in  which  he  attempted  to  vindicate  his 
course  in  respect  to  slavery.  This  pamphlet  of  fifty  pages  is  written  in  a  dignified  style  and 
shows  the  author  to  have  been  a  man  by  no  means  deficient  in  ability,  either  natural  or  ac 
quired.  A  copy  of  this  exceedingly  rare  and  valuable  pamphlet  is  in  the  Cornell  University 
Library.  On  the  title  page  is  found  the  interesting  announcement  that  "This  pamphlet  is 
not  to  be  sold,  but  given  away."  It  contains  perhaps  the  fullest  materials  regarding  anti- 
slavery  in  the  Baptist  Churches  of  Kentucky  down  to  1808.  Spencer,  in  his  "History  of  the 
Kentucky  Baptists,"  relies  largely  on  these  two  sources  for  his  material. 

*4  David  Barrow:  "Involuntary,  Absolute,  Hereditary  Slavery  Examined  on  the 
Principles  of  Nature,  Reason,  Justice  and  Scripture."  See  also  Spencer:  "History  of  the 
Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  2,  p.  120. 

11  Barrow:  "Involuntary,  Absolute,  Hereditary  Slavery  ***,"  pamphlet.  See  also  Spen 
cer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  186;  Vol.  2,  p.  120. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1800-1830  39 

ministers  had  withdrawn  from  the  Association;  but  the  seceders 
refused  to  renew  their  former  relations. 2  6 

The  expulsion  of  Barrow  resulted  in  the  withdrawal  of 
ministers  and  churches  from  nearly  every  association  in  Kentucky 
and  in  the  formation  of  Emancipation  Baptist  churches,  which 
either  excluded  slaveholders  or  denied  them  the  right  of  com 
munion.27  Under  the  leadership  of  David  Barrow  and  Carter 
Tarrant,  an  association  was  formed  embracing  part  of  these 
churches  in  the  north  central  part  of  the  state.  The  first 
meeting  of  this  new  association  was  held  in  August,  1807, 
with  eleven  ministers  and  nineteen  laymen  in  attendance.28 
Another  meeting  was  held  the  following  month,  when  a  per 
manent  organization  was  effected  under  the  name  of  The 
Baptized  Licking  Locust  Association,  Friends  of  Humanity.29 

The  purpose  of  this  Association  can  best  be  learned  from  the 
consideration  of  eleven  queries  discussed  at  this  meeting.  The 
query,  "Can  any  person  be  admitted  a  member  of  this  meeting, 
whose  practice  appears  friendly  to  perpetual  slavery?"  was 
answered  in  the  negative.  To  the  query,  uls  there  any  case 
in  which  persons  holding  slaves  may  be  admitted  to  member 
ship  in  the  church  of  Christ?"  the  answer  was,  "No;  except  in 
the  following,  viz. — 1st.  In  the  case  of  a  person  holding  young 
slaves,  and  recording  a  deed  of  their  emancipation  at  such  an 
age  as  the  church  to  which  they  offer  may  agree  to.  2nd.  In 
the  case  of  persons  who  have  purchased  in  their  ignorance  and 
are  willing  that  the  church  shall  say  when  the  slave  or  slaves 
shall  be  free.  3rd.  In  the  case  of  women,  whose  husbands  are 
opposed  to  emancipation.  4th.  In  the  case  of  a  widow  who 
has  it  not  in  her  power  to  liberate  them.  5th.  In  the  case  of 
idiots,  old  age,  or  any  debility  of  body  that  prevents  such  slave 
from  procuring  a  sufficient  support."30  The  answer  to  another 
query  declared  that  no  member  was  to  purchase  any  slave 
or  slaves  except  with  a  view  to  ransoming  them  from  perpetual 
slavery,  and  then  only  after  the  approval  of  the  church  had  been 
obtained.  The  association  then  declared  that  their  ideas  of 

16  Barrow:    "Involuntary,  Absolute,  Hereditary  Slavery***,"  pamphlet.  Spencer:  "His 
tory  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  2,  p.  120. 

17  Barrow:  "Involuntary,  Absolute,  Hereditary  Slavery***,"  pamphlet.  Benedict:  "His 
tory  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  245. 

18  Benedict:     "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  247.     See  also  Spen 
cer:     "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  186.     It  is  a  significant  fact  that  Barrow's 
pamphlet  was  dated  August  27,  1807,  although  it  did  not  appear  in  print  until  the  following 
year. 

»  Benedict:  "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  247.  See  also 
Spencer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  186.  This  association  received 
its  name  from  the  Licking  Locust  Church  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  which  was  con 
sidered  the  mother  church  among  the  emancipation  churches  of  Kentucky. 

»°  Benedict:     "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  247. 


40     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

slavery  had  occasioned  no  alteration  in  their  view  of  the  doc 
trine  of  the  Gospel.31 

The  emancipating  Baptists  or  the  Friends  of  Humanity, 
as  they  were  commonly  called,  had,  previous  to  the  formation 
of  the  association,  consistently  refused  to  commune  with  slave 
holders.  They  had  opposed  slavery  both  in  principle  and  in 
practice,  as  being  a  "sinful  and  abominable  system,  fraught  with 
peculiar  evils  and  miseries  which  every  good  man  ought  to 
abandon  and  bear  his  testimony  against."  They  endeavored 
to  effect  in  the  most  prudent  and  advantageous  manner  for 
both  slaves  and  their  owners  the  general  and  complete  emanci 
pation  of  the  Negro  race  in  America. 3  2 

We  have  no  means  at  present  of  knowing  the  number  of 
preachers  or  churches  that  went  into  the  organization  in  1807. 
Benedict  estimates  their  strength  at  the  time  of  the  organization 
of  the  society  at  twelve  ministers,  twelve  churches,  and  three 
hundred  members.33 

Notwithstanding  the  zeal  for  anti-slavery  which  charac 
terized  the  organization  of  the  Friends  of  Humanity,  the  dozen 
years  of  their  existence  exhibited  the  same  relaxation  that 
was  noticeable  in  the  large  religious  bodies.  At  their  second 
meeting  during  the  latter  part  of  1807  at  the  New  Hope  Meeting 
House,  one  of  the  first  emancipating  Baptist  churches  in  the 
state,  of  which  Carter  Tarrant  was  pastor,  they  resolved  "that 
the  present  mode  of  association  or  confederation  of  churches 
in  their  relation  to  slavery  is  unscriptural  and  ought  to  be  laid 
aside."34  Thereupon  a  number  of  the  members  acting  inde 
pendently  of  the  churches  proceeded  to  organize  an  anti-slavery 
society  called  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society. 3  5  This  organ 
ization  did  not  replace  the  Friends  of  Humanity  but  merely 
took  over  the  anti-slavery  work  of  the  association.  The  churches 
as  before  refused  to  commune  with  slaveholders.36 

Through  David  Barrow,  the  Friends  of  Humanity,  in  1810, 
began  a  correspondence  with  the  object  of  uniting  the  emanci 
pating  churches  of  Kentucky  with  the  Miami  Baptist  Associa 
tion  of  Ohio,  which  also  refused  to  commune  with  slaveholders. 
Their  overtures  were  rejected  on  the  ground  that  the  Kentucky 


11  Benedict:     "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  pp.  247-248. 

"  Benedict:  "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  pp.  245-246,  248,  229, 
234:  Z.  F.  Smith:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  p.  368. 

"  Benedict:     "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  545. 

"  Ibid.,  Vol.  2,  p.  248. 

»*  See  below,  pp.  42ff. 

"  Benedict:  "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  248.  See  also 
Spencer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  186-189. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — i8oori8^o  41 

emancipators  had  compromised  their  position  by  admitting 
slaveholders  to  the  communion  table  under  certain  conditions. 3  7 
Two  years  later,  Benedict  said  that  the  "zeal  of  the  Emancipators 
has  in  some  measure  abated,  and  of  course  they  are  less  opposed; 
and  it  is  hardly  probable  that  any  lasting  effect  will  be  produced 
by  their  means.  Their  leading  maxims  are  approved  of  by 
many  who  have  not  united  with  them,  but  who  still  hold  slaves 
with  many  scruples  respecting  its  propriety."38  In  1816, 
they  met  at  Lawrence  Creek  meeting  house  in  Mason  County 
under  the  name  of  the  Association  of  Baptists,  Friends  of 
Humanity.  Six  churches  were  represented.  By  this  time,  a 
manifest  tendency  to  "open  communion"  and  other  signs  of 
decay  were  exhibited.  The  organization  kept  up  a  feeble 
existence  until  a  few  months  after  the  death  of  Barrow,  in 
1819,  when  it  was  dissolved. 3  9  From  this  date  until  the  division 
of  the  church  in  1845  into  the  Northern  and  Southern  branches, 
the  Kentucky  Associations  maintained  the  same  attitude  that 
they  had  held  previously,  namely,  that  of  non-interference 
in  the  question  of  slavery,  regarding  it  as  a  political  issue  outside 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  the  exact  influence  of  the  eman 
cipating  Baptists  on  the  anti-slavery  movement  in  the  Baptist 
church  and  on  the  movement  in  the  state  as  a  whole.  While 
their  activites  greatly  disturbed  the  Baptist  churches  in  Ken 
tucky  for  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years,  they  kept  the 
evils  of  slavery  before  the  people  and  doubtless  contributed  to 
the  cause  of  emancipation.  In  any  event  they  furnished  an 
interesting  protest  against  the  position  adopted  by  the  regular 
Baptist  associations. 

A  number  of  prominent  men  were  associated  with  the 
emancipating  churches  at  different  times  during  their  exist 
ence.  Revs.  James  Garrard,  afterwards  governor  of  the  state, 
Ambrose  Dudley,  and  William  Hickman  for  a  time  actively 
supported  the  movement.40  Carter  Tarrant,  one  of  the  most 
active  and  influential  of  the  emancipators,  wrote  a  history  of 
the  Association,  which  was  published  shortly  before  his  death 
in  1815.41  But  by  far  the  most  conspicuous  anti-slavery 
leader  in  the  Baptist  Church,  and  one  who  did  more  than  any 
other  person  to  perfect  the  organization  of  the  scattered  eman- 

«  A.  H.  Dunlevy:     "History  of  the  Miami  Baptist  Association,"  p.  49. 

«  Benedict:     "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  pp.  249-250. 

"  Spencer:     "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  186. 

«•  Spencer:     "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.   187. 

41  Ibid.,  Vol.  1,  pp.  189-190. 


42     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

cipation  churches  and  to  hold  them  together  in  the  society  of 
Friends  of  Humanity,  was  the  Rev.  David  Barrow.42  From 
1808  until  his  death  in  1819,  he  was  also  actively  associated 
with  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society,  serving  for  a  number  of 
years  as  its  president.  Perhaps  no  minister  of  the  Baptist 
Church  in  Kentucky  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
his  brethren  and  of  the  people  generally  in  a  higher  degree  than 
did  Mr.  Barrow.  They  frequently  spoke  of  him  as  the  "wise 
man."  He  was  by  far  the  most  distinguished  and  the  ablest 
preacher  among  the  emancipating  Baptists  and  without  any 
exception  the  most  gifted  writer  among  the  early  Baptist  min 
isters  of  Kentucky.43 

In  summarizing  the  attitude  of  the  churches  of  Kentucky 
toward  slavery  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  century  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  the  churches  reflected  very  clearly  the  changing 
point  of  view.  As  slavery  became  more  firmly  rooted  in  the 
social,  economic  and  political  life  of  the  people,  opposition  became 
less  popular  and  seemed  to  offer  less  hope  of  success.  To  assume 
that  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  slavery  was  a  political 
and  not  a  religious  matter  was  therefore  a  safe  and  reasonable 
position.  It  was  perhaps  more  easily  assumed  because  many 
of  those  who  opposed  this  policy,  despairing  of  overcoming  it 
and  desiring  to  free  themselves  from  the  evils  of  a  slave  society, 
moved  into  the  free  territory  north  of  the  Ohio.44  Thus  the 
radical  element  in  the  churches  was  weeded  out. 

We  have  seen  that  one  of  the  results  of  the  movement 
conducted  by  the  emancipating  Baptists  was  the  formation 
in  1808  of  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society,  the  first  distinctly 
anti-slavery  organization  in  the  state  after  the  dissolution  of 
the  early  anti-slavery  societies  in  1797.45  The  Kentucky  Abo 
lition  Society,  while  composed  largely  of  members  of  the  Baptized 
Licking  Locust  Association,  Friends  of  Humanity,  embraced 
also  a  considerable  number  of  anti-slavery  advocates  from  other 
religious  denominations  of  the  state.  At  their  first  meeting 
a  constitution  was  adopted  and  a  permanent  organization 

41  Barrow  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  In  1798  he  removed 
to  Montgomery  County,  Kentucky,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

"  Benedict:  "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  pp.  245-251,  225.  See 
also  Spencer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  193-197. 

44  Benedict:  "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  261;  Dunlevy:  "His 
tory  of  the  Miami  Baptist  Association"  (Ohio),  p.  132,  159;  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and 
His  Times,"  p.  164;  Bishop:  "Outline  of  the  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  144.  Bishop 
speaks  of  six  Presbyterian  congregations  under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev.  Armstrong  and 
Fulton  who  had  moved  into  Indiana  territory  in  order  to  free  themselves  from  the  evils  of 
slavery.  In  a  number  of  instances  Methodist  and  Baptist  congregations,  together  with  their 
ministers,  for  similar  reasons  moved  from  Kentucky. 

46  The  Baptized  Licking  Locust  Association,  Friends  of  Humanity,  though  a  religious 
body,  did  the  work  of  an  ordinary  anti-slavery  society  and  might  be  properly  termed  one. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1800-1830  43 

effected.  The  purposes  and  work  of  the  society  which  every 
member  pledged  himself  to  further  were  grouped  under  the 
following  heads:46 

1.  To  pursue  such  measures  as  would  tend  to  the  final 
constitutional  abolition  of  slavery. 

2.  To  appoint  persons  to  prepare  sermons,  orations,  and 
speeches  on  slavery  which  were  to  be  delivered  at  given  times  and 
to  publish  such  of  them  as  the  annual  meeting  might  desire. 

3.  To  look  after  the  interests  of   free  Negroes  and  mu- 
lattoes  and  to  inculcate  morality,  industry,  and  economy  among 
them.     This  was  to  be  accomplished  largely  by  means  of  edu 
cation. 

4.  To  ameliorate  the  condition  of  slaves  by  every  means  in 
their  power  according  to  the  constitutional  laws  of  the  state. 

5.  To  seek  for  justice  in  favor  of  such  Negroes  and  mu- 
lattoes  as  were  held  in  bondage  contrary  to  the  constitutional 
laws  of  the  commonwealth. 

6.  To  seek  to  secure  the  constitutional  abolition  of  the 
domestic  slave  trade.47 

The  range  of  activities  thus  set  forth  was  a  wide  one ;  while  an 
aggressive  spirit  was  displayed,  it  is  important  to  note  that  it 
was  not  a  radical  one.  This  position  was  clearly  set  forth  in 
the  constitution  as  follows:  "Slavery  is  a  system  of  oppression 
pregnant  with  moral,  national  and  domestic  evils,  ruinous  to 
national  tranquility,  honor  and  enjoyment,  and  which  every 
good  man  wishes  to  be  abolished,  could  such  abolition  take  place 
upon  a  plan  which  would  be  honorable  to  the  state,  safe  to  the 
citizen  and  salutary  to  the  slaves."48 

The  permanent  plan  of  organization  provided  for  auxil 
iary  branches  or  local  chapters  to  be  formed  in  different  parts  of 
the  state.  Each  of  these  was  to  send  delegates  to  the  annual 
meeting  on  the  basis  of  its  membership.  The  organization 
of  both  the  state  and  the  local  societies  was,  as  a  rule,  very  simple. 
It  provided  for  a  president,  vice-president,  secretary,  and  treas 
urer  as  regular  officers  and  usually  one  or  more  committees. 
Annual  meetings  of  the  state  society  were  to  be  held,  at  which 
the  interests  of  the  organization  as  a  whole  were  to  be  considered. 
Memorials  and  petitions  were  to  be  sent  to  the  officials  of  the 


Vol.  2,  p.  248. 


«  Abolition  Intelligencer  *  *  *,  Vol.  1,  No.  6.  p.  81.     The  Constitution  is  published  hi  full 
in  this  number.     Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  24. 
«  Abolition  Intelligencer***,  Vol.  1,  p.  81. 


44     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

state  and  nation  when  it  should  be  deemed  advisable;  addresses 
giving  information  on  the  subject  of  slavery  were  to  be  published 
from  time  to  time  and  the  general  objects  of  the  society  were 
to  be  furthered  in  every  possible  way.  The  auxiliary  branches 
were  also  to  hold  regular  meetings,  some  as  often  as  once  a  month, 
to  promote  the  objects  of  the  state  society  in  that  vicinity  as 
well  as  the  objects  of  the  local  chapter;  these  objects  differed 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  State,  and  a  few  instances  have 
been  found  in  which  a  local  society  even  sent  addresses  to  the 
State  legislature  or  to  Congress.49 

The  number  of  members  and  the  number  of  branches 
comprising  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society  in  1808  or  the  years 
immediately  following  are  not  known.  Most  of  the  ministers 
associated  with  the  Friends  of  Humanity  became  members 
of  the  new  organization  and  influenced  many  of  the  members 
of  their  churches  to  do  likewise.50  The  membership  was 
augmented  by  others  who  had  not  been  connected  with  the 
Baptist  church  but  were  ready  to  assist  in  every  way  possible 
in  securing  the  abolition  of  slavery.61 

The  efforts  of  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society  soon  attracted 
considerable  attention  and  incurred  severe  criticism.  The 
members  were  repeatedly  accused,  as  the  Friends  of  Humanity 
had  been  before  them,  of  talking  against  slavery  and  slave 
holders  in  the  hearing  of,  and  even  to,  "multitudes  of  ignorant 
Negroes,"  who  might  "pervert  the  most  proper  reasonings  to 
improper  purposes."52  The  society  was  not  discouraged  by  this 
opposition.  It  issued  a  circular  in  which  its  aims  were  set  forth 
and  the  objections  answered,53  and  thereafter  for  several  years, 
other  circulars  reviewing  the  progress  of  its  work  and  outlining 
its  plans  for  the  future  appeared. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1815  displayed  an  unusual  amount 
of  activity.  A  number  of  auxiliary  branches  had  recently  been 
established  in  various  parts  of  Kentucky54  and  the  constitution 

«  Abolition  Intelligencer  ***,  Vol.  1,  No.  6,  p.  81;  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation, 
Vol.  7,  No.  165,  p.  194. 

"  The  Friends  of  Humanity  numbered  about  300  in  1808. 

"  Draper  MSS.,  Hist.  Miscel.  1.  It  appears  from  the  manuscript  letter  of  William 
Rogers,  of  Philadelphia,  March  31,  1795,  to  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  that  the  Baptists  of  Kentucky 
refused  to  affiliate  in  any  great  numbers  with  the  societies  that  were  formed  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  century.  That  movement  was  originated  by  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
and  received  most  of  its  support  from  that  denomination,  while  the  movement  of  1808  began 
in  the  Baptist  Church  as  a  result  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  which  have  been  described. 

"  Benedict:     "History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,"  Vol.  2,  p.  246. 

H  Abolition  Intelligencer  *  *  *,  Vol.  1,  p.  84.  In  this  circular  it  was  stated  that,  "We,  as 
an  infant  Abolition  Society  in  this  State,  have  been  ungenerously  represented  as  a  dangerous 
body  of  citizens  forming  combinations  against  the  government,  raising  money  for  our  own 
emolument,  blending  the  church  and  the  world  together  *  *  *." 

6«  Abolition  Intelligencer  ***,  Vol.  1,  No.  6;  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Vol.  1, 
p.  156. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1800-1830  45 

of  1808  was  now  amended  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  expanding 
order,  but  without  altering  the  avowed  purpose  "to  bring  about 
a  constitutional  and  legal  abolition  of  slavery  in  this  Common 
wealth."55  A  memorial  was  sent  to  the  legislature  of  Kentucky 
describing  the  nature  and  the  purposes  of  the  organization  and 
asking  for  an  act  of  incorporation.  The  petition  was  brought 
before  the  house  of  representatives  by  Mr.  Daniels,  who  urged 
that  it  be  granted. 5  6  No  action,  however,  appears  to  have  been 
taken  on  the  matter.  A  memorial  signed  by  David  Barrow  as 
president  and  Moses  White  as  secretary  was  sent  also  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  setting  forth  the 
deplorable  condition  of  the  free  people  of  color.  It  asked  that 
a  suitable  territory  be  laid  off  as  an  asylum  for  all  Negroes  and 
mulattoes  emancipated  or  to  be  emancipated  within  the  United 
States  and  that  such  financial  assistance  be  granted  them  as 
their  needs  might  demand.57  Upon  this  an  adverse  report  was 
made  the  following  year  by  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 6  8 
In  1821,  the  society,  which  had  kept  up  a  correspondence 
with  like  societies  in  other  parts  of  the  country,59  resolved 
to  widen  the  scope  of  its  activities.  The  small  number  of  papers 
which  would  allow  the  opponents  of  slavery  to  set  before  the 
people  the  arguments  against  the  system  was  one  of  the 
greatest  >  difficulties  that  the  anti-slavery  workers  generally  had 
to  contend  with,  since  the  columns  of  the  regular  newspapers, 
especially  in  the  states  south  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  Line, 
were  as  a  rule  closed  to  all  anti-slavery  discussions.  The  Ken 
tucky  Abolition  Society,  therefore,  determined  to  establish 
at  Shelbyville  a  semi-monthly  anti-slavery  paper  under  the 
editorship  of  the  Rev.  John  Finley  Crowe.  By  way  of  pros 
pectus,  proposals  enumerating  the  principles  of  the  society, 
with  extracts  from  its  constitution,  were  sent  to  various  peri 
odicals  for  publication.60  The  first  number  of  the  paper, 

"  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Vol.  1,  p.  156.  Lundy  in  this  number  said  that  he 
had  been  informed  that  there  were  but  six  or  seven  members  of  the  society  in  1815.  The  language 
of  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution  adopted  at  that  date  proves  the  statement  to  be  incorrect. 
The  six  or  seven  members  might  have  been  confused  with  the  number  of  auxiliary  branches 
or  with  the  number  in  attendance  at  the  annual  meeting,  which  was  composed  of  delegates 
from  the  local  societies.  The  Constitution  says  in  part,  "It  is  not  possible  for  these  different 
little  societies  in  their  detached  situation  to  unite  their  efforts  against  the  great  will  with  the 
same  good  effect  without  some  general  medium  of  union." 

"  Western  Monitor,  December  15,  1815. 

"  American  State  Papers,  Miscel.  Vol.  2,  No.  395,  p.  278. 

68  Ibid. 

"  Edward  Needles:  "Historical  Memoirs  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society,"  pp.  58,  80; 
"Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Convention *** for  1812, "p.  17;  for  1818,  p.  41; 
The  Abolition  Intelligencer  *  *  *,  September,  1822;  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Vol.  2,  pp. 
61-62. 

80  These  proposals  were  printed  in  full  in  the  Indiana  Gazette  (Corydon,  Indiana), 
November  29,  1821,  and  in  Lundy 's  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  (Greenville,  Tennessee) , 
March,  1822.  See  also  A.  E.  Martin:  "Pioneer  Anti-Slavery  Press,"  in  the  March  number 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Historical  Review,  1916,  pp.  525ff. 


46     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

which  was  called  the  Abolition  Intelligencer  and  Missionary 
Magazine,  appeared  in  May,  1822, 61  as  a  monthly  instead  of  a 
semi-monthly,  as  stated  in  the  proposals.62 

Each  number  of  the  Abolition  Intelligencer  and  Missionary 
Magazine  contained  sixteen  pages,  the  first  eight  of  which  were 
devoted  wholly  to  a  discussion  of  slavery  and  the  last  eight 
to  missions.  The  historical  value  of  such  a  paper  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  It  was  a  repository  for  all  plans  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  for  all  laws,  opinions,  arguments,  essays, 
speeches,  reviews,  statistics,  congressional  proceedings,  notices 
of  books  and  pamphlets,  colonization  efforts,  political  movements, 
— in  short,  for  everything  relating  to  slavery.63 

There  were  just  two  anti-slavery  papers  published  in  the 
United  States  at  that  time,  one,  the  Abolition  Intelligencer  and 
Missionary  Magazine,  the  other,  Lundy's  Genius  of  Universal 
Emancipation.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  both  of  these  papers 
were  published  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  This  is 
true  of  every  anti-slavery  paper  published  before  1826. C4 

Since  the  Abolition  Intelligencer  and  Missionary  Magazine 
was  not  so  well  supported  as  had  been  anticipated,  as  the  state 
society,  which  had  less  than  200  members  at  that  time,  was  un 
able  to  give  any  substantial  aid,  it  had  to  be  discontinued. 
The  twelfth  and  last  number  was  issued  in  April,  1823,  when  the 
paid  subscribers  numbered  fewer  than  500. 65  If  it  had  been 
possible  to  continue  the  paper  till  after  Lundy's  removal  from 

«  Lundy  announced  in  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  for  April,  1822,  that 
"the  work  was  expected  to  have  been  commenced  before  this  time,  but  it  is  painful  to  learn 
that  it  does  not,  as  yet,  meet  with  the  encouragement  that  would  be  likely  to  defray  the  ex 
penses  of  publication**  *.  The  Society,  I  am  told,  have  resolved  to  put  the  work  in  operation, 
very  shortly;  and  that  it  may  prosper,  should  be  the  wish  of  every  philanthropic  and  humane 
mind.  Those  who  are  expected  to  have  the  editorial  management  of  the  paper,  are  well 
qualified  for  a  discharge  of  the  duties  that  will  devolve  upon  them.  Some  of  them,  with  whom 
I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  personal  acquaintance,  are  men  of  talent,  and  excellent  character, 
and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  it  will  be  ably  conducted." 

«2  Abolition  Intelligencer***,  May,  1822.  Only  twelve  numbers  of  this  paper  were  issued, 
nine  of  which  are  in  the  Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society  Library  at  Madison,  Wisconsin. 
See  also  Martin:  "Pioneer  Anti-Slavery  Press." 

The  first  number  of  the  paper  contained  a  full  and  explicit  enumeration  of  the  objects 
of  the  society  and  of  the  paper.  Among  other  things  they  desired  to  prepare  the  public  mind 
for  the  gradual  constitutional  abolition  of  slavery,  to  convince  the  people  that  that  institution 
was  a  national,  an  individual,  and  a  moral  evil,  hostile  to  the  spirit  of  the  government,  ruinous 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  nation,  destructive  to  social  happiness,  and  subversive  to  the  great 
principles  of  morality. 

«  Abolition  Intelligencer***,  May,  1822.  See  also  Martin:  "Pioneer  Anti-Slavery 
Press,"  p.  526. 

•<  Following  is  a  list  of  the  anti-slavery  papers  published  before  1827,  which  avowed 
the  extinction  of  slavery  as  one,  if  not  the  chief,  of  their  objects.  (Martin:  "Pioneer  Anti- 
Slavery  Press,"  p.  526f.) 

The  Philanthropist,  Ohio,  1817-19. 

The  Manumission  Intelligencer,  Tennessee,  1819. 

The  Emancipator,  Tennessee,  1820. 

The  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Ohio,  1821;  Tennessee,  1822-24;  Maryland, 
1824-30. 

The  Abolition  Intelligencer  and  Missionary  Magazine,  Kentucky,  1822-23. 

The  African  Observer,  Pennsylvania,  1826. 

The  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  was  the  only  anti-slavery  paper  published 
before  1826  that  had  an  existence  of  more  than  two  years. 
«*  Abolition  Intelligencer***,  March,  1823. 


Anti-Slavery  in  Kentucky — 1800-1830  47 

Tennessee  to  Baltimore  in  1824,  the  Abolition  Intelligencer 
and  Missionary  Magazine  might  have  received  enough  sub 
scribers  from  the  anti-slavery  strongholds  of  east  Tennessee  and 
Ohio  to  have  made  the  publication  profitable  or  at  least  self- 
supporting.  To  what  extent  the  discontinuance  of  the  Aboli 
tion  Intelligencer  and  Missionary  Magazine  and  the  subse 
quent  decline  of  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society  may  be  at 
tributed  to  the  active  opposition  which  that  periodical  excited, 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  Articles  condemning  the  Intelligencer 
as  seditious,  and  even  threats  of  violence  against  the  editor 
were  not  unknown,66  and  the  pulpit  joined  the  press  in  de 
nouncing  the  society  for  publishing  it.  In  1827,  Lundy  said  that 
there  were  still  eight  societies  in  Kentucky,  with  a  membership 
of  200, 67  but  he  did  not  mention  the  Kentucky  Abolition 
Society,  which  probably  had  gone  out  of  existence.  The 
local  societies  also  soon  disappeared  or  were  transferred  into 
colonization  societies. 6  8 

The  abolition  societies  in  Kentucky,  though  small  in  numbers, 
nevertheless  performed  a  valuable  and  necessary  service.  They 
kept  alive  anti-slavery  discussion  by  a  continued  agitation  of 
the  subject;  they  strenuously  opposed  and  materially  checked 
the  internal  slave  trade  by  pointing  out  the  horrors  of  the  system ; 
they  defended  the  free  Negro  before  the  law  and  labored  to 
better  his  condition  by  raising  his  standard  of  life;  they  endeav 
ored  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  slaves  and  to  prevent  the 
separation  of  families.  Though  it  is  true  that  they  did  not  wholly 
succeed  in  any  one  of  these  undertakings,  yet  it  must  be  said 
that  they  succeeded  in  part  in  all  of  them.  In  this  the  Kentucky 
societies  did  not  differ  materially  from  those  in  other  sections 
of  the  country  during  the  same  period.  All  were  conservative, 
for  the  most  part  advocating  gradual  constitutional  abolition. 
To  be  sure,  there  were  already  individuals  in  both  the  free  and 
the  slave  states  favoring  immediate  emancipation,  but  they 
were  not  numerous.  In  1808  David  Barrow  said  that  he  did 
not  know  of  one  among  the  Kentucky  anti-slavery  workers 
who  advocated  an  immediate  general  emancipation;  "those  who 
have  considered  the  subject  know  that  it  is  a  matter  of  very  great 
importance  and  that  it  will  require  time  to  prepare  those  sons 

••  Abolition  Intelligencer***,  August,  1822;  June,  1822;  quoted  from  the  Compiler,  July 
1822,  quoted  from  the  Columbian. 

67  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  October  13,  1827. 
"  The  Colonization  Society  will  be  discussed  in  Chapter  7. 


48     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to 

and  daughters  of  wretchedness  to  receive  the  blessings  of  liberty 
as  well  as  to  remove  the  prejudices."69 

The  strong  sectional  feeling  growing  out  of  the  slavery 
controversy,  which  was  to  play  such  an  important  part  in  our 
history,  was  not  very  pronounced  during  these  years,  especially 
before  1820.  Slavery  had  been  too  recently  abolished  in  the 
northern  states — in  New  York  not  until  1827 — for  a  strong  radical 
feeling  to  be  developed  there,  and  in  the  South  it  was  by  no 
means  universally  regarded  as  indispensable  to  the  economic 
interests,  although  in  the  cotton  states  it  was  making  rapid 
strides  in  that  direction.  The  Missouri  contest  and  the  strug 
gle  over  the  state  constitutions  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  aroused 
individuals,  societies,  and  legislatures  to  the  importance  of  the 
question  and  emphasized  a  divergency  of  sectional  interests, 
which  were  forcibly  expressed  when  the  legislature  of  Ohio 
passed  a  resolution  in  1824  favoring  the  emancipation  and 
colonization  of  the  adult  children  of  slaves  at  the  expense  of 
the  national  government.  This  proposal  was  endorsed  by  the 
legislatures  of  at  least  six  northern  states  including  Pennsylvania, 
while  it  was  attacked  by  all  the  states  of  the  lower  South.70 
But  in  the  border  states,  where  slavery  was  poorly  adapted  to 
the  economic  life  of  the  people,  sectionalism  was  as  yet  less  evi 
dent  and  the  question  of  emancipation  probably  was  still  more 
generally  discussed  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  country.71 

•»  Barrow:     "Involuntary,  Absolute,  Hereditary  Slavery  *  *  *,"  p.  24. 

"  Ames:  "State  Documents  on  Federal  Relations,"  No.  5,  p.  11  (with  citations); 
J.  B.  McMaster:  "History  of  the  United  States,"  Vol.  5,  p.  204. 

71  Lundy  in  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  October  13,  1827,  makes  the  fol 
lowing  classification  of  the  abolition  societies  of  the  United  States: 

FREE   STATES  SOCIETIES  MEMBERS 

Massachusetts 

Rhode  Island 4  300 

New  York 

Pennsylvania 16  900 

Ohio 4  300 

Total 24  1,500 

SLAVE   STATES 

Delaware 2  75 

Maryland 11  500 

District  of  Columbia 100 

Virginia 8  250 

Kentucky 200 

Tennessee 25  1,000 

North  Carolina 50  3 ,000 

Total 106  5,125 

GRAND   TOTAL 130  6  ,625 


THE  COLONIZATION  MOVEMENT  IN  KENTUCKY 

1816-1850 


CHAPTER   IV 


One  of  the  problems  confronting  the  anti-slavery  agitators 
in  all  parts  of  the  country  was  the  free  Negro,  who  constituted 
a  considerable  element  of  our  population  prior  to  the  Civil 
War. 1  His  condition  was  well  described  by  Henry  Clay  in  1829, 
when  he  said:  "Of  all  the  descriptions  of  our  population,  and  of 
either  portion  of  the  African  race,  the  free  people  of  color  are, 
by  far,  as  a  class,  the  most  corrupt,  depraved  and  abandoned.  *  *  * 
They  are  not  slaves,  and  yet  they  are  not  free.  The  laws,  it  is 
true,  proclaim  them  free;  but  prejudices,  more  powerful  than  any 
law,  deny  them  the  privileges  of  freemen.  They  occupy  a  mid 
dle  station  between  the  free  white  population  and  the  slaves  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  tendency  of  their  habits  is  to  corrupt 
both."2  In  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South,  the  free  Negro 
was  deemed  an  undesirable  member  of  society,3  and  many 
slaveholders  who  recognized  slavery  as  a  great  evil  were  con 
vinced  that  general  emancipation  without  a  removal  of  the  freed 
slaves  would  be  yet  worse,  and  must  result  in  insurrection,  mur 
der,  and  every  form  of  outrage. 

This  peculiar  position  which  the  free  Negro  occupied  in 
relation  to  the  slave,  to  the  abolition  movement,  and  to  the  white 

1  The  free  Negro  population  of  the  United  States  from  1790  to  1840  was:  1790,  59,511; 
1800,  110,072;  1810,  186,446;  1820,  226,775;  1830,  319,467;  1840,  386,265.  About  45  per 
cent,  of  these  lived  in  the  slave  States.  In  1830  there  were  4,816  free  Negroes  in  Kentucky. 

1  Speech  of  Henry  Clay  before  the  American  Colonization  Society  in  1829,  African 
Repository,  Vol.  6,  p.  12. 

1  The  Negro  codes  in  the  northern  states  were  in  many  cases  as  strict  as,  and  in  some 
instances  more  strict  than  those  in  the  southern  states.  In  general  in  the  slave  states  the 
free  Negro  was  restricted  in  his  freedom  by  the  following  limitations:  General  exclusion  from 
the  elective  franchise,  denial  of  the  right  of  locomotion,  denial  of  the  right  of  petition,  ex 
clusion  from  the  army  and  militia,  exclusion  from  all  participation  in  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  limitations  as  to  education.  There  were  also  laws  in  most  of  the  states  forbidding 
or  restricting  the  importation  of  free  Negroes.  Such  laws  were  passed  in  Kentucky  in  1807 
(Littell:  "Statute  Laws  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  3,  p.  499). 

In  1833,  Niles  in  his  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  45,  pp.  167-168,  makes  the  following 
comment  upon  the  condition  of  the  free  Negro:  "There  are  many  and  great  inducements 
in  the  free  States,  *  *  *  to  rid  themselves  of  a  surplus  free  colored  population.  These  are  not  of 
the  best  class  of  colored  persons.  They  know  enough  to  feel  that  they  are  degraded,  and  to 
be  almost  without  a  hope  of  bettering  their  condition;  and  hence  they  become  careless  of  the 
future."  He  quoted  at  length  from  the  Prison  Discipline  Society,  for  1827,  which  showed 
a  very  large  per  cent,  of  Negro  criminals  in  all  the  northern  states.  The  proportion  of  the 
different  states  varied  from  one-third  in  New  Jersey,  where  they  constituted  one-thirteenth 
of  the  population,  to  one-third  in  Connecticut,  where  they  represented  one-thirty-fourth  of 
the  total  population. 


50     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

population  centered  upon  him  a  great  deal  of  attention,  especial 
ly  from  those  friends  of  emancipation  who  felt  that  the  success 
of  their  efforts  depended  to  a  large  extent  upon  the  ability  of  the 
Negro  to  reap  the  advantages  of  freedom  and  who  naturally 
looked  to  the  free  Negro  to  furnish  this  example  to  the  world. 
The  attitude  of  the  anti-slavery  societies  toward  this  element  of 
the  population  was  set  forth  clearly  in  the  address  of  the  Ameri 
can  Convention  of  Delegates  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Abolition 
of  Slavery  and  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  African  Race  to 
the  free  Negroes  in  1818.  In  part  it  is  as  follows:  "Vain  will  be 
the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  abolition,  to  behold  their 
labors  crowned  with  success,  unless  those  colored  people  who 
have  obtained  their  freedom,  should  evince  by  their  morality  and 
orderly  deportment,  that  they  are  deserving  the  rank  and  station 
which  they  have  obtained  in  society ;  unavailing  will  be  the  most 
strenuous  exertions  of  humane  philanthropists  in  your  behalf, 
if  you  should  not  be  found  to  second  their  endeavors,  by  a  course 
of  conduct  corresponding  with  the  expectations  and  the  wishes 
of  your  friends  *;  ;*so  to  order  and  regulate  your  conduct  and  de 
portment  in  the  world  and  amongst  men,  that  your  example  may 
exhibit  a  standing  refutation  of  the  charge,  that  you  are  un 
worthy  of  freedom  *  :  *.  Finally,  be  sober ;  be  watchful  over  every 
part  of  your  conduct,  keeping  constantly  in  view,  that  the  free 
dom  of  many  thousands  of  your  colour,  who  still  remain  in  slav 
ery,  will  be  hastened  and  promoted  by  your  leading  a  life  of  vir 
tue  and  sobriety."4  This  same  sentiment  is  expressed  in  the 
numerous  addresses  issued  by  anti-slavery  societies  as  well  as  in 
their  constitutions,  where  it  was  inserted  as  one  of  the  funda 
mental  objects  of  the  organizations.  Nearly  every  society  had 
a  special  department  or  a  committee  whose  duty  it  was  to  look 
after  the  interests  of  the  free  Negroes,  to  see  that  their  rights 
were  not  abused,  and  to  raise  their  standards  of  morality. 

It  was  with  a  view  to  finding  a  solution  for  this  difficult 
problem  that  the  American  Colonization  Society  for  the  Free 
People  of  Color  was  founded  at  Washington  in  1816.  While  it 
is  with  the  history  of  colonization  in  Kentucky  that  this  chapter 
is  particularly  concerned,  it  will  be  necessary  to  turn  attention 
briefly  to  the  history  of  the  above  society  into  which  the  local 
anti-slavery  societies  of  the  state  were  at  length  absorbed  and 
with  which  the  colonization  societies  there  were  affiliated.5 


4  "An  Address  to  the  Free  People  of  Colour***,"  by  the  American  Convention  of  Dele 
gates  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Abolition  of  Slavery,  1818. 
6  See  supra,  p.  47. 


The  Colonisation  Movement  in  Kentucky — 1816-1850       51 

The  objects  of  the  Society  were  stated  in  its  constitution 
and  in  the  numerous  addresses  issued  by  the  society.  The  an 
nual  meeting  in  1826  "Resolved,  That  its  only  object  is,  what 
has  been  at  all  times  avowed,  the  removal  to  the  Coast  of  Africa, 
with  their  own  consent,  of  such  people  of  colour  within  the  United 
States,  as  are  already  free,  and  of  such  others,  as  the  humanity 
of  the  individuals,  and  the  laws  of  the  different  states,  may  here 
after  liberate."  6  And  Henry  Clay,  president  of  the  society,  three 
years  later  said  in  this  connection: ''From  its  origin, and  through 
out  the  whole  period  of  its  existence,  it  has  constantly  disclaimed 
all  intention  whatever  of  interfering,  in  the  smallest  degree,  with 
the  rights  of  property,  or  the  object  of  emancipation,  gradual  or 
immediate.*** It  hopes,  indeed,  that  if  it  shall  demonstrate  the 
practicability  of  the  successful  removal  to  Africa,  of  free  persons 
of  colour,  with  their  consent,  the  cause  of  emancipation,  either 
by  states  or  by  individuals,  may  be  incidentally  advanced."7 

While  this  policy  of  the  society  was  generally  approved,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  it  met  with  greater  success  in  the  border  states 
than  elsewhere.  In  the  lower  South,  indeed,  the  society  was 
always  viewed  with  some  suspicion,8  and  pro-slavery  leaders 
generally  came  to  consider  it  a  scheme  looking  towards  eventual 
emancipation.9  On  the  other  hand  the  leading  anti-slavery  or 
ganization,  The  American  Convention  of  Delegates  for  the  Pro 
motion  of  the  Abolition  of  Slavery  and  Improving  the  Condition 
of  the  African  Race,  withheld  all  support  on  the  ground  that  the 
society  was  doing  nothing  to  further  the  ends  that  the  conven 
tion  had  in  view. 1  °  Nevertheless,  the  American  Colonization 
Society  did  not  lack  for  distinguished  and  influential  support 
ers.  Justice  Bushrod  Washington  was  its  first  president  and 
John  Marshall,  James  Madison,  James  Monroe,  and  Henry  Clay 
were  among  his  successors. 

The  legislatures  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Georgia  en 
dorsed  its  request,  to  which  the  national  government  acceded  in 
1821,  that  Liberia  be  purchased  for  its  use.  In  short,  it  drew  ad 
herents  from  many  quarters.  Some  hoped  to  rid  the  state  of  the 

«  African  Repository,  Vol.  1,  pp.  335-6;  Niks'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  45,  p.  167. 

7  African  Repository,  Vol.  6,  p.  13.  His  entire  speech  before  the  Colonization  Society 
in  1829,  of  which  he  was  President,  is  given  in  this  number. 

1  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  118-119. 

,  •  Register  of  Debates,  19th  Congress,  2d  Session,  p.  328.  Senator  Hayne.  of  South 
Carolina,  in  discussing  in  Congress,  in  1827,  the  making  of  an  appropriation  for  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  said:  "Are  not  the  members  and  agents  of  this  society  everywhere  (even 
while  disclaiming  such  intentions),  making  proclamations  that  the  end  of  their  schemes  is 
universal  emancipation?  *  *  *  Does  not  every  Southern  man  know  that  wherever  the  Colonization 
Society  has  invaded  our  country  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  our  institutions  has  immediately  sprung 

"  "Minutes  of  the  American  Convention***,  1818,"  pp.  30,  38,  47-54,  65f. 


52     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

undesirable  free  Negroes.  Others  saw  in  the  society  an  aid  to 
the  eventual  extinction  of  slavery  through  voluntary  emancipa 
tion  and  transportation  of  the  freedmen  to  Africa.  The  society 
was,  therefore,  admirably  adapted  to  the  sentiment  of  the  bor 
der  states.  To  the  extent  that  it  promised  even  indirectly  to 
advance  the  cause  of  emancipation  it  could  command  the  sup 
port  of  the  anti-slavery  element  while  its  program  of  removal 
for  the  free  Negro  would  commend  it  to  pro-slavery  and  anti- 
slavery  men  alike. 

While  the  colonization  idea  was  generally  approved  in  Ken 
tucky,  as  in  other  sections  of  the  country,  the  membership  of 
and  number  of  auxiliary  societies  increased  very  slowly  for  a 
number  of  years  after  the  founding  of  the  original  society  at 
Washington  in  1816.  The  first  auxiliary  society  was  not  es 
tablished  in  Kentucky  until  1823,  and  the  second  not  until  1827. J  ' 
We  have  seen,  however,  that  the  abolition  societies  described 
above  adopted  colonization  as  one  of  their  objects  in  1823  and 
gradually  gave  it  increasing  prominence,  until  in  the  late  twen 
ties  they  had  become  in  reality  colonization  societies.  There  is 
abundant  evidence,  that,  in  effecting  this  change,  the  abolition 
societies  were  reflecting  a  growing  body  of  public  opinion.  As 
early  as  1823  the  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Kentucky  had  approved 
the  work  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  and  appointed 
a  special  committee  to  further  its  objects  in  the  state.12  At 
about  the  same  time  the  Kentucky  newspapers  took  up  the 
scheme  and  devoted  increasing  attention  to  it.  Their  attitude 
was  well  illustrated  by  an  article  on  voluntary  emancipation  and 
colonization,  published  by  the  Commentator  in  1825.  In  part 
it  is  as  follows:  "This  voluntary  mode  of  putting  an  end  to  slav 
ery,  will  we  hope  find  increasing  proselytes.  It  violates  no  rights 
real  or  imaginary;  it  inflicts  injury  on  no  interests  or  feelings; 
it  displays  a  spirit  worthy  of  the  freest  people  in  the  world  and  it 
proves  by  demonstration  that  while  we  are  tenacious  on  the  sub 
ject  of  our  own  freedom  we  are  desirous  of  extending  its  blessings 
to  all  classes  of  the  human  race  even  by  the  sacrifice  of  some  of 
our  interests."13  The  plan  also  received  the  hearty  support  of 
the  religious  papers,  especially  the  Western  Luminary  and  the 
Presbyterian  Herald,  both  of  which  published  colonization  arti- 

11  Adams:     "Anti-Slavery  in  America,"  p.  106. 

11  Davidson:     "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  pp.  337-8.     The 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  had  taken  similar  action  in  1818. 
!»  The  Commentator,  August  12,  1825. 


The  Colonisation  Movement  in  Kentucky — 1816-1850       53 

cles  and  notices  in  practically  every  number.  In  1827,  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  state  passed  a  joint  resolution  en 
dorsing  colonization,14  and  similar  action  was  taken  two  years 
later  with  only  two  dissenting  votes.  At  the  latter  date  the 
Kentucky  representatives  in  Congress  were  asked  to  use  their  in 
fluence  to  secure  an  appropriation  of  money  for  the  purpose  of 
furthering  the  interests  of  the  society. x  6 

The  effect  of  these  influences  is  not  difficult  to  trace.  The 
number  of  societies  increased  from  two  in  1827  to  five  in  1829 
when  they  were  united  in  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society, *  6 
which  in  turn  became  an  auxiliary  to  the  American  Colonization 
Society.  The  following  year  four  agents  were  appointed  to  de 
vote  all  their  time  traveling  in  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  dis 
seminating  information  concerning  the  society  and  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  auxiliaries. 1 7 

The  energetic  canvass  thus  instituted  in  the  interest  of  colo 
nization  soon  bore  fruit.  In  a  letter  to  the  Kentucky  Reporter 
in  1830,  astonishment  was  expressed  by  a  correspondent  at  the 
ardor  with  which  men  of  all  ranks  entered  into  the  movement 
and  the  opinion  was  expressed  that  10,000  members  could  be  se 
cured  to  the  society  in  the  course  of  the  next  three  or  four  years. 
The  writer  also  stated  that  numerous  individuals  had  expressed 
their  willingness  to  surrender  their  Negroes  at  any  time  that  the 
society  might  be  ready  to  receive  them. 1 8  The  African  Reposi 
tory  in  commenting  on  the  work  of  the  various  colonization  so 
cieties  in  the  United  States  in  1830  said :  "Probably  in  no  state  of 
the  Union  has  the  scheme  of  African  Colonization  found  more 
decided  friends  or  met  with  more  general  approbation  than  in 
Kentucky."  * 9  The  governing  bodies  of  the  Presbyterian, 2 °  the 
Methodists,21  and  the  Baptist22  churches  of  Kentucky  repeat 
edly  approved  colonization  and  at  different  times  made  special 
efforts  to  promote  its  interests.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising 
that  by  1832  the  number  of  societies  in  Kentucky  had  increased 


14  The  Spirit  of  Seventy-Six,  March  22,  1827;  The  Western  Luminary,  June  24,  1827. 
»  Niles*  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  35,  p.  387. 

11  Adams:  "Anti-Slavery  in  America,"  p.  106.  See  also,  African  Repository,  Vol.  3, 
p.  27;  Vol.  7,  p.  94;  Vol.  8,  p.  91;  Vol.  9,  pp.  194,  216. 

17  The  Kentuckian,  June  1,  1829;  African  Repository,  Vol.  4,  p.  351;  Vol.  5,  pp.  27-291 
Vol.  ot  p.  82. 

18  The  Kentucky  Reporter,  1830,  quoted  in  the  African  Repository,  Vol.  5,  pp.  27-29. 
"  African  Repository,  Vol.  6,  p.  80. 

M  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  337.  See  also 
Western  Luminary,  March  5,  1834,  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  Nov.  21,  1837. 

«  A.  H.Redford:  "Western  Cavaliers,"  pp.  71,  125,  149,  398.  The  National  General 
Conference  approved  the  colonization  idea  in  1828.  (Journal  of  the  General  Conference, 
Vol.1  p.  357;  Vol.  2,  p.  59.  See  also  African  Repository,  Vol.  3,  p.  120;  Vol.  4,  p.  126;  Vol.  6, 
p.  83.) 

"  The  (Baptist)  Cross,  February  6,  1834. 


54     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

to  3 1.23     Some  of  these  moreover  were  county  organizations 
composed  of  several  local  societies. 

The  reason  for  this  general  approbation  lay,  as  has  been  sug 
gested,  in  the  double  appeal  made  by  colonization.  In  its  con 
stitution  of  1829,  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  had  declared 
that  its  purpose  was  to  relieve  the  Commonwealth  "from  the 
serious  inconvenience  resulting  from  the  existence  among  us,  of  a 
rapidly  increasing  number  of  free  persons  of  colour,  who  are  not 
subject  to  the  restraints  of  slavery."24  With  this  purpose  even 
pro-slavery  men  could  sympathize.  Conservative  anti-slavery 
men,  on  the  other  hand,  could  not  overlook  the  declaration  that 
"The  late  disposition  to  voluntary  emancipation  is  so  increasing 
that  no  law  is  necessary  to  free  us  from  slavery,  provided  there 
is  an  asylum  accessible  to  the  liberated."25 

And  it  appears,  therefore,  that  in  Kentucky,  at  least, 
the  anti-slavery  feature  of  the  colonization  scheme  was  not 
merely  passive.  The  state  and  local  societies  were  to  some 
extent  centers  of  anti-slavery  thought,  since  in  the  numerous 
addresses  before  them,  which  were  usually  published  in  the  cur 
rent  newspapers,  as  well  as  in  the  African  Repository,  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery  was  attacked  upon  moral,  economic,  and 
political  grounds.  The  tendency,  or  rather  the  desire,  of  the 
Kentucky  masters  to  give  up  their  slaves  for  the  purpose  of 
freeing  and  removing  them  to  Liberia  was  repeatedly  referred  to. 
Thus  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  in  1831,  said  that  colonization 
took  for  granted  the  fact  that  slavery  was  a  great  moral  and 
political  evil  '  'and  (the  society)  cherished  the  hope  and  the  belief 
also,  that  the  successful  prosecution  of  its  objects  would  offer 
powerful  motives  and  exert  a  persuasive  influence  in  favor  of 
emancipation.  And  it  is  with  this  indirect  effect  of  the  society 
that  the  largest  advantage  is  to  result  to  America."26  J.  C. 
Young,  the  president  of  Centre  College  at  Danville,  Kentucky, 

«  Adams:     "Anti-Slavery  in  America,"  p.  106. 

Female  colonization  societies  were  organized  in  Louisville,  Lexington  and  elsewhere 
in  the  state.  They  were  exceedingly  active  and  rendered  valuable  service  in  obtaining  funds 
for  the  society. 

The  growth  of  societies  to  promote  colonization  was  by  no  means  confined  to  Ken 
tucky.  The  American  Colonization  Society,  at  the  end  of  its  first  decade  (1826),  had  62 
auxiliary  branches.  By  1832  they  had  increased  to  228  and  of  these  92  were  in  the  free  states 
and  136  in  the  slave  states.  Only  22  were  found  in  the  lower  South,  and  of  the  114  in  the 
border  states,  34  were  in  Virginia  and  31  in  Kentucky. 

"  "Proceedings  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  for  1831,"  Pamphlet.  See  also 
African  Repository,  Vol.  4,  p.  351. 

"  "Proceedings  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  for  1831."     Ibid. 

86  Speech  before  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  in  the  African  Repository,  Vol. 
7,  p.  176.  A  correspondent  in  the  Western  Luminary,  August  29,  1827,  in  an  article  signed 
"Harper,"  declared  that  slavery  was  ruining  Kentucky  and  that  the  state  must  soon  suffer 
the  consequences.  He  said,  "Renationalize  the  blacks.  Send  them  back  to  their  country, 
beginning  first  with  those  that  are,  and  shall  become  free — and  then  progress  by  slow  degrees 
with  the  residue.  The  colony  in  Liberia  is  a  star  in  the  east  which  points  out  the  mode  of 
relief." 


The  Colonisation  Movement  in  Kentucky — 1816-1850       55 

stated,  before  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  in  1832, 
his  belief  that  colonization  would  greatly  advance  both  the 
immediate  and  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  country  and 
that  it  would  eventually  end  in  escape  from  slavery. 2  7  Similarly 
the  Danville  Colonization  Society  in  a  petition  to  the  legis 
lature  of  Kentucky  in  1831  said  in  this  connection:  "Within 
the  last  ten  years  these  degraded  people  have  nearly  doubled 
their  numbers,  *  *  *  .  Two-thirds  of  this  increase  has 
been  produced  by  emancipation  from  the  slave  class,  and  the 
same  spirit  which  produced  that  result  is  still  abroad  among  us, 
and  is  every  day  acquiring  increased  potency  over  the  minds  of 
men.  The  work  of  emancipation  is  still  going  on,  and  will  go 
on,  with  increased  rapidity."28  In  1835  the  Hon.  Joseph  R. 
Underwood,  later  United  States  Senator,  expressed  the  opinion 
that  this  sentiment  would  continue  to  increase  until  it  pervaded 
and  influenced  a  majority  of  the  slaveholders  of  the  state.  He 
said  further  that  these  opinions  were  based  upon  certain  facts, 
which  he  enumerated  and  discussed  at  some  length,  among 
which  were:  1.  Slave  labor  was  more  expensive  than  free  and 
consequently  in  the  states  where  there  were  no  slaves  the  pro 
ducts  could  be  sold  cheaper  than  where  they  were  raised  by 
•s.  2.  Communities  that  had  no  slaves  surpassed  those 
had,  in  almost  everything  that  rendered  life  comfortable. 
3.  Many  valuable  citizens  were  leaving  the  state  for  no  other 
reason  than  the  existence  of  slavery  in  it.29  The  influence  of 
Henry  Clay,  too,  must  have  been  very  great,  as  his  opinion  on 
this  as  on  other  questions  carried  with  it  a  great  deal  of  force. 
As  president  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  he 
declared:  "If  I  could  only  be  made  instrumental  in  ridding 
of  this  foul  blot  (slavery)  that  revered  state  that  gave  me 
birth,  or  that  not  less  beloved  state  which  kindly  adopted 
me  as  her  son,  I  should  not  exchange  the  proud  satisfaction 
that  I  should  enjoy  for  all  the  honor  of  all  the  triumphs  ever 
decreed  to  the  most  successful  conqueror."30  That  Clay  and 
thousands  of  his  fellow  citizens  regarded  slavery  as  an  evil  and 

57  African  Repository,  Vol.  9,  p.  59. 

**  African  Repository,  Vol.  7,  p.  211.  The  liberal  enforcement  of  the  emancipation 
laws  of  the  State  was  discussed  in  the  Spirit  of  Seventy-Six,  January  31.  1827,  and  in  the 
Maysville  Eagle,  February  14,  1838. 

"  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Underwood:  "Address  before  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society 
in  1835,"  Pamphlet,  p.  20. 

In  the  report  of  the  managers  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society,  at  its  annual 
meeting  in  1830,  the  following  statements  were  made:  "Experience  has  taught  that  slaves 
othing  to  our  national  wealth.  Where  they  exist  labor  is  not  only  high,  but  badly  per- 
°r,?K  '  a  •  e  commumties  growing  up  around  us  who  are  clear  of  this  evil  flourish  over  us, 
and  by  their  cheapness  of  labor  and  more  abundant  industry  are  making  us  tributary."  (Afri 
can  Repository,  Vol.  6,  p.  81.) 

*  "Annual  Report  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,"  Pamphlet,  1827. 


56     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

as  antagonistic  to  the  economic  interests  of  the  state  and  that 
they  believed  that  colonization  would  either  accomplish  event 
ually  the  extinction  of  slavery  or  contribute  largely  toward 
that  end  are  evident  to  any  one  cognizant  of  the  facts.  The 
problem  before  them  was  an  exceedingly  complicated  one,  and 
its  solution  a  difficult  and  uncertain  task.  While  such  opinions 
as  the  above  were  freely  voiced  it  is  clear  that  the  position  of  the 
Kentucky  Colonization  Society,  reiterated  in  its  numerous  re 
ports,  in  numerous  speeches,  and  in  the  newspapers31  through 
out  the  state,  must  have  enjoyed  a  large  measure  of  support 
among  the  conservative  classes  of  the  state.  Thus  the  Louis 
ville  Journal,  one  of  the  most  influential  papers  in  Kentucky, 
declared  "We  look  upon  colonization  as  the  only  plan  con 
sistent  with  individual  rights  and  the  peace  and  happiness  and 
the  prosperity  of  the  nation  which  has  been  or  can  be  devised  for 
the  abrogation  of  slavery  in  the  Southern  states.  *  *  *  Its 
object  is  not  to  pronounce  the  negro  free  and  equal  to  the 
white  but  to  endeavor  to  make  him  so — not  simply  to  break 
the  chains  from  his  limbs,  but  to  place  him  in  a  position  to  de 
serve  and  enjoy  freedom."32 

While  a  majority  of  those  affiliated  with  the  movement  in 
Kentucky  appear  to  have  had  this  attitude  toward  the  work, 
there  were  some  who  wished  merely  to  remove  the  free  Negroes 
from  the  state  and  who  were  opposed  to  any  anti-slavery  ten 
dencies  on  the  part  of  the  colonization  society.  A  good  repre 
sentative  of  this  class  was  the  Hon.  Robert  Wickliffe,  whom 
Cassius  M.  Clay  frequently  compared  to  McDuffie  of  South 
Carolina,  because  of  his  radical  pro-slavery  views.  Wickliffe 
was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  colonization  society  of  Kentucky. 
In  an  address  before  the  Female  Colonization  Society  of  Lex 
ington,  he  made  the  statement  that  the  society  was  not  designed 
to  interfere  in  any  way  between  master  and  slave,  whereupon 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge  arose  and  flatly  contradicted  the  state 
ment,  and  further  said  that  if  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  society 
was  not  to  emancipate  the  slaves,  he  would  wash  his  hands  of 
it.  Others  expressed  the  same  opinion,  and  shortly  afterwards 
Wickliffe  severed  his  connection  with  the  society  forever.33 
The  Louisville  Public  Advertiser,  a  Democratic  and  anti-Clay 
paper,  also  strongly  opposed  colonization.  An  editorial  of  1830 

«  The  newspapers  of  the  state  were  almost  unanimous  in  their  support  of  colonization 
and  permitted  it  to  be  discussed  freely  in  their  columns.  A  few,  however,  doubted  the  practi 
cability  of  the  plan  and  one,  the  Louisville  Public  Advertiser,  openly  opposed  it. 

"  The  Louisville  Journal,   September  15.  1836. 

"  Robert  Wickliffe:     "Reply  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,"  1840,  Pamphlet,  p.  44. 


The  Colonization  Movement  in  Kentucky — 1816-1850       57 

said:  "We  think  that  it  is  high  time  for  the  people  of  the  state 
to  begin  to  scrutinize  with  severity  the  course  and  conduct  of 
the  'Heaven  directed  Genius'  (Henry  Clay)  on  this  subject. 
Under  pretense  of  raising  funds  to  transport  the  free  people  of 
colour  to  Liberia,  hundreds  of  associations  have  been  formed 
and  appeal  after  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  sympathies  of 
the  public,  the  real  object  of  which  was  to  prepare  the  public 
mind  for  the  effort  we  are  now  told  will  be  made  by  the  'Heaven 
directed  Genius'  to  induce  the  Kentuckians  to  undertake  the 
great  work  of  emancipation.  We  have  always  viewed  the 
project  of  colonizing  the  people  of  colour  in  Liberia  as  deceptive 
and  pernicious  and  only  intended  to  cover  the  real  designs  of 
its  leading  advocates — that  of  emancipating  slaves  and  leaving 
them  among  us,  some  to  fall  victims  to  folly  and  vice  and  others 
to  be  amalgamated — united  by  ties  of  blood  with  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  their  political  champions."34 

Whatever  their  intentions,  the  Kentucky  colonization  so 
cieties  were  never  able  to  accomplish  a  great  deal  in  the  way  either 
of  ridding  the  state  of  the  free  colored  population  or  of  lessening 
to  any  great  extent  the  number  of  slaves,  but  a  small  beginning 
was  made  which  it  was  hoped  would  tend  toward  a  final  solution 
of  the  problem.  There  were  many  instances  of  willingness  on 
the  part  of  masters  to  free  their  slaves  for  transportation  to 
Africa,3 5  but  the  lack  of  funds  appears  to  have  greatly  hampered 
the  work.  The  Louisville  Branch  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization 
Society,  which  appeared  to  be  more  active  than  any  other  in 
the  state,  raised  $805.25  in  18323s  and  $3,000  in  1839.37  In 
1833  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  collected  $1,137.6738 
and  in  1836  it  turned  over  to  the  American  Colonization  So 
ciety  $1,000.39  These  sums  were  obviously  inadequate  to 
accomplish  much  in  view  of  the  cost  of  transportation  which 
was  estimated  at  from  twenty  to  thirty-five  dollars  for  each 
individual.40 

»4  Louisville  Public  Advertiser,  April  19,  1830.  'This  was  the  strongest  and  most 
radical  pro-slavery  paper  in  the  state. 

»•  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  48,  p.  42;  Vol.  49,  p.  195;  The  Commonwealth,  Febru 
ary  20,  1839,  stated  that  there  were  a  number  of  large  slaveholders  in  the  state  who  were 
ready  to  liberate  their  slaves  whenever  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  was  prepared  to 
transport  them  to  Africa. 

"  African  Repository,  Vol.  9,  p.  28. 

J7  Ibid.,  Vol.  15,  p.  154. 

18  Louisville  Herald,  March  4,  1833. 

»•  African  Repository,  Vol.  12,  p.  269.  In  1833  the  students  of  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  at  the  suggestion  of  R.  S.  Finley,  the  agent  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society, 
pledged  themselves  to  raise  in  six  months  a  sum  sufficient  to  effect  the  emancipation  of  100 
slaves  in  Kentucky.  (Advocate  of  Popular  Rights,  September  21,  1833). 

40  The  Hon.  Daniel  Mayer  in  an  "Address  Before  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society" 
m  1831  estimated  the  cost  of  transportation  to  Africa  at  $20.00  for  each  individual.  (Pamphlet.) 
This  estimate  is  probably  too  low.  The  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Underwood  in  an  "Address  before 
the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  in  1835"  placed  the  average  cost  at  $35.00. 


58     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

It  is  probably  true  that  the  leaders  of  the  movement  had 
never  expected  to  rely  upon  small  sums  collected  in  this  way. 
After  demonstrating  the  practicability  of  colonization  they 
had  looked  for  governmental  help.  As  early  as  1830  the  Ken 
tucky  Colonization  Society  sent  a  memorial  to  Congress,  in  which 
slavery  was  condemned  and  the  government  was  asked  to  assume 
the  same  attitude  toward  the  free  Negro  that  it  held  toward  the 
American  Indian  and  to  provide  means  for  his  transportation 
and  colonization  either  in  the  unsettled  section  of  our  own  country 
or  in  Liberia.41  The  following  year  a  petition  was  sent  to  the 
legislature  of  Kentucky  asking  for  an  appropriation  of  money 
for  the  purpose  of  transporting  to  Liberia  all  free  colored  persons 
willing  to  go.  It  was  suggested  that  an  annual  tax  of  ten  cents 
be  levied  on  every  slave  in  the  state  as  a  means  of  raising  this 
fund.  A  bill  embodying  this  suggestion  was  introduced  by 
Representative  Green,  but  it  failed  of  passage.42  That  this 
action  was  a  disappointment  to  the  society  may  be  gathered 
from  the  speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  delivered  in  the  same 
year  when  he  said:  "It  is  generally  known  that  the  original 
members  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  anticipated, 
that  at  some  future  period,  the  general  government  and  some 
if  not  all  of  the  state  governments  would  co-operate  in  their 
exertions  for  the  removal  of  an  evil  which  was  obviously  national 
in  all  its  aspects,  and  which  no  private  exertions  were  adequate 
to  extinguish."43  And  Henry  Clay  said  in  this  connection  in 
1837:  "The  Society  was  formed  to  demonstrate  the  prac 
ticability  of  colonization  in  Africa,  and,  if  it  were  unhappily 
dissolved  tomorrow,  that  great  purpose  of  its  founders  will 
have  been  completely  accomplished.  No  one  can  now  doubt 
that,  with  the  application  of  adequate  means,  such  as  the  govern 
ments  of  the  several  states  of  the  Union  could  supply,  almost 
without  an  effort,  the  colonization  of  the  descendants  of  the  Afri 
can  race  may  be  effected  to  any  desirable  extent.  The  founders 
of  the  Society  never  imagined  that,  depending  as  it  does  upon 
spontaneous  contributions  from  the  good  and  the  benevolent 
irregularly  made,  without  an  established  revenue,  and  without 
power,  the  Society  alone  was  competent  to  colonize  all  the  free 

41  African  Repository,  Vol.  5,  p.  347.  The  rules  of  the  society  require  the  holding  of  the 
annual  meetings  during  the  sessions  of  the  legislature.  For  further  attempts  to  influence 
the  legislature  see  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1830  and  1831  and  especially  H.  Wingate  to  R.  J. 
Breckinridge,  Dec.  1,  1830;  Dr.  S.  Marshall  to  R.  J.  Breckinridge,  December,  1831. 

«  Lexington  Observer,  September  16,  1831.     African  Repository,  Vol.  7,  pp.  148,  212. 
A  great  number  of  plans  were  proposed  and  discussed  from  time  to  time  for  raising 
funds  for  carrying  out  the  plans  of  the  society,  but  none  of  them  met  with  the  approval  of  the 
legislature. 

45  African  Repository,  Vol.  14,  p.  17. 


The  Colonization  Movement  in  Kentucky — 1816-1850       59 

persons  of  colour  in  the  United  States.  They  hoped,  and  the 
Society  still  hopes,  that,  seeing  what  has  been  done,  and  can 
be  done,  governments  may  think  fit  to  take  hold  of  the  principle, 
and  carry  it  out  as  far  as  they  may  deem  right,  with  their  ample 
powers  and  abundant  resources.  *  *  Great  national 
enterprises  are  not  to  be  speedily  executed,  like  those  of  indi 
viduals,  in  the  short  span  of  the  life  of  one  person. 
Near  two  centuries  elapsed,  during  which  her  (Africa's)  sons 
were  constantly  transported  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World, 
doomed  to  a  state  of  bondage.  A  period  of  similar  extent 
may  possibly  be  necessary  to  restore  their  descendants  to  the 
parent  country,  with  all  the  blessings  of  law  and  liberty,  relig 
ion  and  civilization.  A  sudden  and  instantaneous  separation 
of  the  two  races,  if  it  were  possible,  would  be  good  for  neither 
nor  for  either  country."44 

In  view  of  the  shortage  of  funds  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  number  of  free  Negroes  transported  from  Kentucky  to  Af 
rica  was  in  fact  very  small.45  The  efforts  of  the  society,  how 
ever,  were  not  relaxed.  In  1844,  an  agitation  was  started  for 
the  establishment  of  a  separate  colony  in  Africa  to  be  known  as 
"Kentucky  in  Liberia"46  and  to  be  modeled  after  "Maryland 
in  Liberia"  which  had  been  established  the  previous  year.47 
In  1845  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Cowan,  the  agent  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society  in  Kentucky,  began  a  campaign  to  raise 
$5,000  to  be  used  in  purchasing  a  suitable  tract  of  land  on  which 
the  free  colored  people  of  Kentucky  might  be  settled.48  The 
newspapers,  the  religious  denominations,  and  various  other 
organizations  entered  actively  into  the  campaign,  and  as  a 
result  the  money  was  raised  before  the  end  of  the  year.  Acting 
under  instructions  from  the  American  Colonization  Society, 
Governor  Roberts  of  Liberia  laid  off  a  tract  of  land  forty  miles 
square  on  the  north  side  of  the  St.  Paul  River  for  that  purpose.49 

Special  inducements  were  offered  to  attract  the  free  Negroes 
and  to  make  them  contented  and  prosperous  after  their  arrival. 
The  emigrants  were  to  enjoy  all  the  advantages  of  the  government 

44  African  Repository,  Vol.  14,  p.  18.  Speech  before  the  American  Colonization  Society 
1837. 

"  Ninety-six  slaves  from  Kentucky  were  sent  to  Liberia,  in  1833,  and  others  were  sent 
from  time  to  time  during  the  thirties,  but  the  average  was  probably  less  than  that  for  1833. 
Louisville  Public  Advertiser,  March  27,  1833.  Among  the  emigrants  for  1833  were  eleven 
slaves  freed  by  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  and  turned  over  to  the  Colonization  Society  together 
with  considerable  money  and  supplies  for  their  maintenance  after  their  arrival  in  Africa. 

4«  African  Repository,  Vol.  20,  p.  310. 

«  Ibid.,  Vol.  19,  p.  341. 

«  Ibid.,  Vol.  21,  p.  380;  The  Frankfort  Commonwealth,  September  30,  1845;  Niles' 
Weekly  Register,  Vol.  69,  p.  102. 

«  African  Repository,  Vol.  21,  p.  283. 


60     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to 

of  Liberia  and  all  the  privileges  that  they  would  enjoy  in  any 
settlement  in  the  Commonwealth.50  Those  who  were  unable 
to  pay  their  own  expenses  were  to  be  provided  for  by  funds 
raised  in  Kentucky  and  they  were  to  be  supported  for  six  months 
after  their  arrival. 5  J  Each  head  of  a  family  or  single  adult  was 
promised  a  building  lot  in  the  town  with  five  acres  adjoining 
or  if  he  settled  two  miles  out  of  town  fifty  acres,  or  three  miles 
from  town  one  hundred  acres  of  land.62 

A  vessel  was  chartered  to  sail  in  November,  1845,  with  about 
200  emigrants  for  the  new  settlement,  but  the  ship  did  not  sail 
until  February,  1846,  and  then  with  only  thirty-five  emigrants 
from  Kentucky,  although  there  was  a  large  number  from  other 
states  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 53  Of  the  thirty-five  emigrants 
from  Kentucky,  twenty  were  men,  six  were  women,  and  nine 
were  children.  Only  two  were  free  Negroes.  Twelve  were 
church  members,  two  of  them  ministers.  There  were  three 
carpenters,  one  blacksmith,  and  one  shoemaker.54 

The  American  Colonization  Society  granted  the  Kentucky 
Colonization  Society  permission  to  use  all  the  money  raised 
in  the  state  for  the  transportation  of  emigrants  from  Kentucky, 5  5 
and  a  special  effort  was  made  to  induce  the  state  legislature 
to  make  an  appropriation  to  defray  the  expenses  of  transportation 
but  without  success.56  The  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Kentucky 
pledged  $500  toward  the  purchase  of  a  ship  to  run  as  a  regular 
packet  between  New  Orleans  and  Liberia  to  carry  emigrants 
and  provisions  from  the  Mississippi  Valley.57  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Cowan  called  a  convention  of  the  free  Negroes  of  Kentucky 
in  order  to  induce  a  greater  emigration  to  Liberia.  Lexington, 
Louisville,  and  Danville  were  each  to  send  one  Negro  represent 
ative  to  the  settlement  in  Africa  at  the  expense  of  the  society. 
After  one  year's  residence  in  the  colony  these  representatives 
were  to  return  and  report  to  the  free  Negroes  of  the  state.58 
As  was  planned  the  representatives  were  sent  to  Liberia,  but 
no  record  has  been  found  of  either  their  return  or  the  contemplated 
report. 


*«  African  Repository,  Vol.  21,  p.  283. 

"  Ibid.;  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  68,  p.  362. 

»  Presbyterian  Herald,  January  15,  1846. 

"  Ibid.;  African  Repository,  Vol.  23,  p.  65.  The  number  of  Negroes  emigrating  from 
Kentucky  to  Liberia  during  the  following  years  was:  1840,  12;  1841.  20;  1843.  14;  1844,  21; 
1845,  36;  1846.  35. 

'«  Ibid. 

•«  African  Repository,  Vol.  22,  p.  304. 

••  Ibid.,  Vol.  22,  p.  38. 

"  The  Liberator,  October  24,  1845. 

«  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  72,  p.  323. 


The  Colonisation  Movement  in  Kentucky — 1816-1850       61 

There  was  considerable  discussion  in  Kentucky  about  this 
time  of  the  advisability  of  compelling  all  free  Negroes  to  emi 
grate  to  Africa  and  upon  at  least  one  occasion,  in  1845,  a  mass 
meeting  was  held  in  Fayette  County  and  resolutions  to  that 
effect  adopted  and  forwarded  to  the  legislature.  It  was  pro 
posed  that  they  be  given  free  passage  and  provisions  for  the 
voyage.59  No  action  appears  to  have  been  taken  by  the  legis 
lature  on  the  subject. 

African  colonization  continued  to  be  discussed  in  Kentucky 
until  the  end  of  the  Civil  War  and  confidence  in  the  feasibility 
of  the  plan  was  never  lost.  In  an  address  before  the  Kentucky 
Colonization  Society  in  1847  Judge  Bullock  said:  "It  is  a  re 
markable  fact,  that  whilst  the  colonization  society  has  carefully 
avoided  all  interference  with  the  relations  of  master  and  slaves, 
it  has  done  more  to  promote  emancipation  than  all  the  abo 
lition  societies  in  the  country.  *  *  *  The  emancipation  which 
it  promotes  and  encourages  is  real  emancipation."60  John 
A.  McClung,  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  state,  speaking 
before  the  society  in  the  following  year,  declared  that  slavery 
was  merely  temporary  in  all  but  the  cotton  states;  that  it  was 
gradually  receding  in  a  southern  direction  and  that  while 
it  would  thus  eventually  be  extinguished  in  Kentucky  the  black 
population  would  .remain  unless  removed  by  means  of  coloni 
zation.  This  he  maintained  could  be  easily  accomplished 
without  much  loss  to  the  community  or  suffering  to  the  Negro. 6 1 
As  late  as  1848  Senator  Underwood  of  Kentucky,  a  slaveholder 
of  large  views  and  much  sagacity,  said  in  the  United  States 
Senate  in  a  discussion  on  the  great  territorial  bill:  "I  am  no 
advocate  of  the  institution  of  negro  slavery.  I  believe  its 
existence  in  Kentucky  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  white  population,  and  if  I  had  the  power  to  colonize  and 
remove  every  slave  within  the  borders  of  my  state,  I  would 
cheerfully  do  it."  After  expressing  his  belief  in  the  practica 
bility  of  colonization  he  proposed  the  following  plan:  "Let  a 
future  date  be  fixed,  after  which  every  slave  child  born  shall 
be  the  property  of  the  state,  for  the  purpose  of  colonization. 
Place  our  children  when  weaned  in  the  hands  of  those  who  will 
raise  them — females  till  they  are  eighteen  and  males  to  twenty- 

"  Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  October  3,  1845. 

••  African  Repository,  Vol.  23,  p.  109. 

«  African  Repository,  Vol.  24,  pp.  133-149. 


62     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

five  and  upon  their  reaching  those  ages  send  them  to  Africa."62 
He  expressed  the  belief  that  those  to  whom  the  children  were 
bound  would  be  willing,  in  consideration  of  their  services,  to 
pay  their  transportation  to  Africa.  The  departure  of  the  fe 
males  as  they  reached  womanhood  would  put  an  end  to  the 
birth  of  slaves  within  the  state  and  consequently,  he  declared, 
the  extirpation  of  slavery  would  be  just  as  ''certain  as 
the  laws  of  nature,"  and,  although  the  process  would  extend 
over  a  considerable  number  of  years,  that  would  be  to  the  ad 
vantage  of  both  races.63 

While  the  colonization  movement  in  Kentucky  did  not 
accomplish  much  in  removing  the  free  Negroes,  it  indirectly 
performed  a  valuable  service  by  keeping  emancipation  con 
stantly  before  the  people.  The  anti-slavery  workers  of  the 
state  generally  allied  themselves  with  the  colonization  movement 
because  it  seemed  to  be  fairly  practicable  and  because  it  stood 
a  better  chance  of  success  than  any  other  plan.  Furthermore, 
with  the  coming  of  radical  abolitionism  in  the  North  during 
the  thirties  many  friends  of  emancipation  in  the  border  states 
were  forced  to  support  the  colonization  movement  as  their 
only  means  of  attacking  slavery,  since  in  1836  the  anti-slavery 
societies  were  completely  displaced  by  the  colonization  societies. 
This,  however,  was  not  a  significant  change,  save  as  it  affected 
a  few  radical  individuals  in  Kentucky.  On  the  whole  the  anti- 
slavery  societies  there  had,  during  their  entire  existence, 
held  nearly  the  same  views  about  slavery  and  the  necessity  by 
gradual  means  of  extinguishing  it  as  those  of  the  colonization 
society. 

«  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  September  21,  1848.  An  interesting  proposal  for  the 
colonization  of  the  Kentucky  Negroes  in  Texas  is  found  in  the  Crittenclen  Papers,  S.  S.  Nicholas 
to  Lee  Crittenden,  January  7,  1844. 

63  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  September  21,  1848.  Also  quoted  in  The  Examiner, 
November  1,  1848. 

This  is  only  one  of  numerous  plans  that  were  proposed  from  time  to  time.  Most 
of  them  were  concerned  only  with  African  colonization  although  a  few  desired  to  colonize  the 
Negro  in  Mexico,  the  West  Indies  or  the  western  part  of  the  United  States.  From  this  date 
until  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  these  colonization  discussions  continued  unabated  as  did 
the  work  of  the  Colonization  Society. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETIES  AND  THE  ADVENT 
OF  GARRISONIAN  ABOLITION,  1830-1840 


CHAPTER   V 

*  Probably  no  period  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  has 
been  more  characterized  by  the  spirit  of  reform  than  that  of  the 
second  quarter  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  All  the  social, 
moral,  and  religious  influences  of  the  community  seemed  to  be 
gathered  into  a  movement  designed  to  annihilate  the  wickedness 
of  man  and  introduce  economic  and  social  well-being.  Tran 
scendentalism,  idealism,  and  humanitarianism  were  dominant  in 
the  philosophy  of  the  time.  Religious  and  social  reforms  of  every 
kind,  genuine  and  sham,  were  eagerly  taken  up  and  propagated 
with  great  enthusiasm.  New  sects  arose  with  strange  doctrines. 
The  Mormons  made  many  converts  while  the  Millerites  pro 
claimed  and  awaited  with  confidence  the  advent  of  the  millen 
nium.  A  vigorous  assault  was  made  on  Masonry  by  a  powerful 
political  party  formed  on  the  basis  of  this  idea  alone.  The  tem 
perance  movement  won  notable  victories.  The  agitation  for 
woman's  rights  was  begun  and  able  champions  of  the  cause  ap 
peared.  Peace  societies  were  organized.  The  transportation 
of  the  mails  on  Sunday  was  one  of  the  debated  topics  of  the  day. 
Theatres,  lotteries,  the  treatment  of  the  Indian  by  the  general 
government,  all  came  under  the  most  searching  review.  The 
environment  seemed  to  be  favorable  to  the  rapid  and  rank 
growth  of  reforms  and  crusades,  many  of  them  utterly  imprac 
ticable,  but  all  of  them  pushed  with  the  greatest  devotion  and 
enthusiam. 

Immediate  abolition,  when  it  appeared  in  the  free  states, 
was  only  one  of  the  liberal  and  humanitarian  ideas  that  were 
sweeping  over  the  country,  and  in  some  of  the  slave  states,  es 
pecially  those  along  the  northern  border,  the  subject  of  gradual 
emancipation  was  freely  discussed.  The  struggle  in  the  consti 
tutional  convention  of  Virginia,  in  1829,  and  in  the  two  suc 
ceeding  legislatures,  where  the  plan  for  the  gradual  abolition  of 
slavery  was  defeated  by  a  very  small  majority,  is  an  evidence  of 
the  sentiment  that  prevailed  in  the  border  states  during  those 
years. 


64     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

In  Kentucky,  anti-slavery  agitation  assumed  more  promi 
nence  than  at  any  time  since  the  struggle  of  1798-99  over  the 
constitutional  convention.  The  new  interest  was  not  confined  to 
the  colonization  society  and  its  auxiliaries  discussed  in  the  pre- 
*  ceding  chapter.  Men  of  all  grades  in  society  and  of  all  creeds 
and  of  all  political  parties  enlisted  in  the  cause.  In  the  volumes 
of  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  for  1828,  1829,  and 
1830,  Benjamin  Lundy  repeatedly  asserted  that  the  spirit  of 
emancipation  was  gaining  ground  in  Kentucky.  He  especially 
noted  as  deserving  the  support  of  every  friend  of  the  cause x  the 
efforts  of  the  Western  Luminary,  the  first  religious  newspaper 
published  in  the  Southwest.  This  paper  was  a  Presbyterian 
journal  established  in  1823  under  the  able  editorship  of  Thomas 
T.  Skillman,2  who  from  the  beginning  had  attacked  the  system 
of  slavery  fearlessly  and  continued  to  do  so  until  his  death  in 
1833.  In  113  numbers  of  the  Western  Luminary  covering  the 
period  from  1828  to  1833,  ninety-one  colonization  and  anti-slav 
ery  articles  are  found,  many  of  them  published  in  long  series  and 
dealing  with  various  phases  of  the  matter. 3  They  were  ably 
written  and  were  copied  by  many  of  the  Kentucky  newspapers 
as  well  as  by  newspapers  in  other  sections  of  the  country.  The 
Russellville  Messenger  was  likewise  active  in  its  opposition  to 
slavery.4  Anti-slavery  sentiment  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  editors  of  these  sheets.  The  unusual  activity  and  the  char 
acter  of  the  anti-slavery  leaders  in  the  state  caused  many  other 
newspapers  to  throw  open  their  columns  to  a  discussion  of  the 
subject. 

The  movement  against  slavery  in  Kentucky  was  due  to  eco 
nomic  as  well  as  humanitarian  reasons,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
the  idea  of  gradual  emancipation  was  making  headway  in  the 
early  thirties.  A  slaveholder  of  Kentucky  in  a  communication 
to  the  African  Repository  in  1829  wrote  as  follows:  "I  think  I 
hazard  nothing  in  saying  that  a  large  portion  of  us,  who  are  even 
slaveholders  ourselves,  are  looking  forward  with  pleasing  antic 
ipation  to  that  period  when  slavery  shall  no  longer  be  a  blot 

1  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  April,  1830. 

*  This  paper  was  founded  by  John  Breckinridge,  but  his  connection  with  it  ended  in 
1826.     William  Breckinridge  was  associated  with  Skillman  in  this  work  for  a  number  of  years 
after  1826. 

3  An  incomplete  file  of  this  paper  is  in  the  library  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

William   Lloyd  Garrison  in   the  Liberator,  December  3,  1831,  spoke  in  the  highest 
terms  of  the  fearless  attack  that  the  Western  Luminary  was  making  on  slavery. 

*  In    the    Genius    of    Universal    Emancipation,  for  April,   1830,  Lundy  said  in    this 
connection:     "Several  of    the  newspapers  of  Kentucky  continue  to  advocate  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  in  that  state,  with  a  freedom  and  boldness  calculated  to  inspire  the  hope  that  the 
day  of  political  and  moral  redemption  is  drawing  near."     The  papers  referred  to  were  The 
Western  Luminary,  The  Russellville  Messenger,  and  The  Kentucky  Reporter. 


Anti-Slavery  Societies — Garrisoman  Abolition   1830-1840    65 

upon  the  escutcheon  of  our  Republican  Institutions."5  A  cor 
respondent  in  the  Western  Luminary  expressed  a  similar  senti 
ment  in  the  following  year,  when  he  said  that  the  people  of  Ken 
tucky  felt  that  slavery  was  a  ' 'burden;  a  yoke  which  is  growing 
heavier.  The  holders  are  becoming  more  weary  than  the  slaves. 
They  are  looking  around  for  relief  with  great  anxiety."6  An 
editorial  in  the  Western  Luminary  a  little  later  stated  that  the 
subject  of  slavery,  which  a  few  years  before  had  been  regarded  as 
an  "interdicted  topic,  a  subject  too  delicate  to  bear  even  the 
most  calm  and  dispassionate  discussion,  was  beginning  to  be 
viewed  now  in  a  more  rational  manner,  by  the  citizens  of  our  state 
generally.  It  has  become  a  popular  topic  in  our  religious  and 
political  journals,  the  private  circles,  and  the  legislative  halls. 
For  one  we  acknowledge  we  are  glad  it  is  so.  Wre  are  not  of 
those  who  think  the  concealment  of  a  public  evil  from  the  view 
of  the  community  can  be  attended  with  any  beneficial  conse 
quences.  If  then  it  be  a  great  national  evil  among  us — and  who 
does  not  feel  our  present  system  of  slavery  to  be  such  an  evil — do 
not  the  plainest  dictates  of  common  sense  teach  us  that  the 
subject,  unpleasant  and  humiliating  as  it  is,  should  be  understood 
by  the  community,  in  all  its  bearings?  Ignorance  under  some 
circumstances  may  be  productive  of  incalculable  evil,  but  can 
certainly  accomplish  no  good."7 

A  writer  in  the  Louisville  Herald,  in  1833,  said  that  a  mild 
and  candid  discussion  of  slavery  was  not  only  permitted  but  even 
invited  by  the  public  sentiment.8  And  the  editor  of  the  Cincin 
nati  Chronicle  after  an  extensive  trip  through  Kentucky  in  1832 
stated  that  "in  traveling  through  no  inconsiderable  portion  of 
the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  mingling  with  both  town  and  coun 
try  population,  I  could  not  but  remark  the  change  within  the 
last  few  years,  in  public  sentiment,  upon  the  question  of 
slavery.*  *  There  is  moreover  a  growing  sentiment  among 
the  holders  of  slaves,  that  neither  the  pecuniary  interest,  the 
comfort  nor  the  personal  safety  of  the  white  population,  is  en 
hanced  by  slavery.*  Something  it  must  be  owned  has 
been  gained  toward  the  cause  of  general  emancipation  and  the 
removal  of  the  slaves  of  this  country,  when  such  sentiments 

•  African  Repository,  Vol.  5,  p.  174. 

•  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  July,  1830,  quoted  from  the  Western  Luminary. 

'Western  Luminary,  December  21,  1831.  A  correspondent  in  the  Western  Presby 
terian  Herald,  November  30,  1837.  in  speaking  of  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  1830  said 
m  reference  to  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829:  "Had  a  convention  been  called  in  Kentucky 
about  the  same  time  I  believe  it  might  have  been  successful." 

1  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  June,  1833,  quoted  from  the  Louisville  Herald. 


66     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

and  such  opinions  are  held  and  openly  avowed  among  those  upon 
whom  slavery  has  been  entailed  for  generations."9  And  the  Rev. 
J.  F.  Clarke,  who  lived  in  Kentucky  from  1833  to  1840,  writing 
many  years  later,  asserted  that  "The  sentiment  in  Kentucky,  in 
those  days,  among  all  the  better  class  of  people,  was  that  slavery 
was  a  wrong  and  an  evil,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  abolished.  It 
was  also  believed  that  Kentucky  would,  when  the  time  came  for 
altering  the  Constitution,  insert  a  clause  in  the  new  Constitution 
that  would  allow  slavery  to  be  abolished.*  I  learned  my 

anti-slavery  lessons  from  slavery  itself  and  from  the  slavehold 
ers  around  me.  *  The  majority  were  on  the  side  of  those 
who  contended  that  slavery  was  an  evil  and  a  wrong.  Nobody 
in  the  state  thought  that  there  was  anything  improper  or  dan 
gerous  in  having  the  subject  fully  discussed."10  It  would  ap 
pear  that  Rev.  Mr.  Clarke's  reminiscences  are  not  altogether 
trustworthy  on  this  point,  since  they  were  written  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  and  many  years  after  this  period.  In  the 
main,  however,  though  overdrawn,  they  are  correct.  As  early 
as  1828  a  gentleman  from  Kentucky  in  a  letter  to  Benjamin 
Lundy  said  that  the  sentiment  and  feelings  of  the  people  of  the 
state  were  not  so  hostile  to  slavery  as  formerly  and  that  only  a 
few  men  in  the  entire  state  attempted  to  defend  the  institution 
on  either  moral  or  economic  grounds.  * 1  It  is  hardly  necesssary 
to  say  that  public  sentiment  was  not  united  in  respect  to  the 
anti-slavery  agitation.  As  the  movement  developed  protests 
were  made  in  the  legislature  and  in  the  newspapers  against 
emancipation  sermons  and  anti-slavery  discussions  as  tending 
to  cause  insurrection  and  tumult  among  the  slaves  such  as  had 
recently  occurred  in  Virginia. 1 2  It  was  frequently  maintained 
that  the  conditions  were  not  favorable  for  abolition  or  for  a  free 
discussion  of  the  subject.  Such  arguments,  however,  were  gen 
erally  unavailing. 

The  arguments  for  gradual  emancipation  in  this  period 
rested  in  part  upon  ethical  and  religious  grounds  but  chiefly  upon 
economic  considerations.  Questions  were  raised  as  to  the  moral 
relations  between  master  and  slave,  as  to  the  consistency  of 
slavery  with  the  principles  of  democratic  government,  and  as  to 
its  consistency  with  the  principles  of  Christianity.  Far  more 

•  The  Cincinnati  Chronicle,  quoted  in  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation.  April, 
1833. 

»  J.  F.  Clarke:     "Anti-Slavery  Days,"  pp.  22,  25. 

11  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Vol.  7,  August  30,  1828. 

»  The  Commonwealth,  December  13,  1831.  quoted  from  the  speech  of  Elisha  Smith, 
of  Rockcastle  County,  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Kentucky,  December,  1831. 


Anti-Slavery  Societies — Garrisowan  Abolition   1830-1840    67 

influential,  however,  was  the  argument  based  upon  the  fact  that 
the  system  of  slave  labor  was  not  adapted  to  the  real  economic 
needs  of  the  state. J  3  Reference  was  frequently  made  to  the  pros 
perity  of  the  states  north  of  the  Ohio  River  and  particularly  to 
Ohio.  In  a  speech  in  the  Kentucky  Senate  in  1828  on  a  bill  more 
effectively  to  prevent  the  importation  of  slaves,  Mr.  Green,  of 
Lincoln  County,  said,  "Let  us  look  to  the  state  of  Ohio,  with  her 
rapidly  increasing  population  of  freemen,  her  roads  and  canals, 
and  all  her  other  internal  improvements.*** Why  is  it  that  she  is 
outstripping  Kentucky?  Not  because  she  has  a  milder  or  more 
salubrious  climate,  for  her  winters  are  longer  and  her  growing 
season  shorter.  Not  because  her  soil  is  more  fertile,  for  she  can 
show  no  large  body  of  lands  equal  to  the  rich  land  of  Kentucky. 
Yet  her  citizens  are  able  to  undersell  you  in  every  market.  Upon 
what  other  principle  can  this  be  explained,  but  on  this:  that  free 
labor  is  cheaper  than  slave  labor — a  principle  well  understood  by 
every  person  who  has  the  slightest  acquaintance  with  practical 
economy."14 

And  there  was  much  to  support  the  contention.  In  1800, 
the  inhabitants  of  Ohio  numbered  only  45,365,  while  Kentucky 
had  a  population  of  220,955.  By  1830  the  population  of  Ohio 
had  increased  to  937,903  while  that  of  Kentucky  was  only 
687 , 9 1 7 . l 5  The  industries  and  public  works  of  Ohio  had  increased 

»»  The  Kentuckian,  December  18.  25,  1828;  January  8,  22,  29;  February  5,  12,  1829. 

14  The  Spirit  of  Seventy-Six,  January  31,  1828.  This  same  sentiment  was  expressed 
forcefully  by  a  correspondent  in  the  Louisville  Herald,  May  16,  1833,  in  these  words:  "They 
(slaves)  have  done  grievous  harm  already,  by  hindering  our  growth,  keeping  us  far  behind 
our  sister  states,  impoverishing  our  soil,  corrupting  our  morals  and  manners.*  **  We  believe 
that  slavery  in  our  state  is  unprofitable  and  ruinous,  to  say  nothing  of  other  objections;  and 
as  a  question  of  political  economy  we  assert  that  it  imposes  upon  us  a  heavy  and  ever  increasing 
tax  which  must  be  taken  off  or  sooner  or  later  beggary  and  decay  must  be  our  portion.  It 
is  madness  to  try  to  wink  these  things  out  of  sight,  it  is  folly  to  pretend  to  deny  them.  All 
experience  and  observation,  the  history  and  the  present  condition  of  Virginia  and  Maryland 
speak  with  a  trumpet  voice.  The  latter  has  already  begun  to  take  measures  to  regenerate 
its  sinking  fortunes.*  *  *Though  blessed  with  a  fruitful  soil,  with  many  natural  advantages, 
they  see  and  acknowledge  that  their  lands  have  every  year  been  growing  poorer,  that  they 
are  slowly  but  certainly  sinking  in  political  importance." 

A  long  series  of  articles  dealing  with  this  phase  of  the  subject  was  printed  in  the  Louis 
ville  Herald,  1833.  Those  of  especial  importance  are  in  the  numbers  for  January  16,  February 
12,  13,  and  May  28.  See  also  editorial  in  the  Shelbyville  Examiner,  May  4,  1833. 

11  The  following  tables  give  the  per  cent,  of  increase  and  the  positive  growth  of  three 
border  states,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Missouri,  and  of  three  free  states,  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
Illinois. 

PER   CENT.    INCREASE 

1790-1800  1800-10       1810-20  1820-30        1830-40       1840-50 

Kentucky 199  84                  38  21  13  26 

Tennessee 195  147                 61  61  21  20 

Missouri 219  110  173  77 

Ohio 408                152  61  62  30 

Indiana 347                500  133  99  44 

Illinois .  .                349  185  202  78 

POSITIVE   GROWTH    (THOUSANDS) 

Kentucky 147  185  157  123  91  202 

Tennessee 69  156  161  259  147  173 

Missouri 20  45  73  243  298 

Ohio 45  185  350  356  581  460 

Indiana 5  18  122  195  342  302 

Illinois 12  42  102  318  375 

(Abstract  of  Twelfth  Census,  pp.  34-36) 


68     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

accordingly.  The  agricultural  products  of  the  two  states  did 
not  differ  materially,  but  it  was  asserted  that  the  farmers  of  Ohio 
could  outsell  the  Kentucky  farmers  in  all  the  eastern  markets.  * 6 
It  was  even  shown  that  Ohio  tobacco,  the  great  staple  of  Ken 
tucky,  could  be  sold  in  Baltimore  cheaper  than  tobacco  produced 
by  slave  labor  in  Maryland. *  7 

It  might  have  been  expected  as  a  result  of  these  extensive 
inquiries  into  the  rightfulness  and  the  economic  utility  of  slav 
ery  that  positive  plans  looking  toward  gradual  emancipation 
would  be  brought  forward.  As  a  result  of  the  large  number  of 
slaves  in  the  state  and  their  unpreparedness  for  freedom,  it  was 
generally  believed  that  any  plan  that  might  be  adopted  must  be 
necessarily  only  gradually  put  into  operation  and  extend  over  a 
large  number  of  years.  With  this  end  in  view  numerous  plans 
and  proposals  were  made  during  the  early  thirties  and  among 
them  was  a  plan  for  the  liberation  of  the  offspring  of  slaves  and 
the  formation  of  societies  of  slaveholders  to  effect  that  purpose. 

The  first  step  in  this  direction  was  the  circulation,  in  1831,  * 8 
of  petitions  signed  by  prominent  men  from  different  parts  of  the 
state  and  setting  out  the  following  purpose:  "Several  citizens, 
slaveholders,  under  a  full  conviction  that  there  are  insurmount 
able  obstacles  to  the  general  emancipation  of  the  present  gener 
ation  of  slaves,  but  equally  convinced  of  the  necessity  and  practi 
cability  of  emancipating  their  future  offspring,  and  desirous  that 
a  society  be  formed  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  and  impress 
ing  these  truths  on  the  public  mind,  as  well  by  example  as  by  pre 
cept;  by  placing  themselves  immediately  by  mutual  voluntary 
arrangement,  under  a  well  regulated  system  of  gradual  emancipa 
tion  ;  such  a  system  as  they  would  recommend  to  their  fellow  citi 
zens  for  adoption  as  the  law  of  the  land.  In  this  view  it  is  pro 
posed  to  all  slaveholders  of  every  religion,  opinion,  or  country 
who  are  willing  to  abolish  slavery  by  the  gradual  emancipation  of 
the  coming  generation  and  who  are  willing,  as  a  pledge  of  their 

»«  C.  M.  Clay:  "A  Review  of  the  Late  Canvass,  1840,"  Pamphlet,  p.  14;  Lexington 
Observer,  Oct.  21,  1831;  Speech  of  May  Squire  Turner  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
Kentucky;  Western  Luminary,  March  5,  1834,  August  29,  1827.  Also  African  Repository. 
Vol.  10,  p.  45;  Speech  of  James  G.  Birney,  proposing  Gradual  Emancipation;  The  Cross  (Ky.), 
February  6,  1834;  Address  of  the  Hon.  J.  T.  Morehead  before  the  Kentucky  Colonization 
Society  in  1840.  Ogden  in  his  "Letters  from  the  West"  (R.  G.  Thwaites:  "Early  Western 
Travels,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  80,  112)  in  1821  attributed  the  increase  of  population  and  the  industrial 
superiority  of  Ohio  over  Kentucky  to  the  existence  of  slavery  in  the  latter.  Other  refer 
ences  on  this  subject  are:  Louisville  Herald,  January  11,  1833,  February  12,  May  16,  May  28, 
1833;  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  July,  1833,  p.  63,  quoted  from  Western  Luminary; 
African  Repository,  Vol.  6,  p.  9,  Speech  of  Henry  Clay  before  the  American  Colonization 
Society  in  1836. 

17  Clay:     "Review  of  the  Late  Canvass,"   Pamphlet,  p.  14. 

11  For  further  evidence  that  many  slaveholders  were  inclining,  in  1830-34,  toward  a 
system  of  gradual  emancipation,  see  Western  Luminary,  March  5,  1834;  African  Repository. 
Vol.  5,  p.  174;  Vol.  10,  p.  43;  Birney:  " James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  99ff ;  Hon.  Daniel 
Mayer,  "Proceedings  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society,  1831,"  Pamphlet,  p.  21. 


Anti-Slavery  Societies — Garrisoman  Abolition   1830-1840    69 

sincerity,  to  emancipate  all  slaves  born  their  property  hereafter, 
when  they  shall  severally  arrive  at  an  age  to  be  fixed  on  by  com 
pact,  to  form  themselves  into  societies  having  these  great  and 
glorious  objects  in  view." 1 9  It  was  intended,  upon  the  addition 
of  fifty  names  to  these  petitions,  to  call  a  meeting  for  the  pur 
pose  of  organizing  a  state  society  to  carry  out  the  plan. 

The  undertaking  did  not  prosper  to  the  degree  that  had 
been  anticipated.  Although  they  might  be  in  sympathy  with 
the  gradual  extinction  of  slavery,  slaveholders  generally  were 
not  willing  to  make  personal  sacrifices  of  their  property  in  slaves 
unless  they  had  some  assurance  that  the  system  would  be  abol 
ished  throughout  the  state  by  constitutional  means  in  the  near 
future.  Others  believed  that  nothing  effective  or  permanent 
could  be  accomplished  by  this  plan,  and  still  others  thought  that 
some  method  of  compensated  emancipation  would  and  should 
be  adopted  by  the  state  or  nation.  The  friends  of  Henry  Clay 
refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  movement,  until  after  the  presi 
dential  election  of  1832,  and  they  discouraged  others  from  doing 
so.20  The  required  number  of  subscribers  to  the  petitions  was 
soon  obtained,  but  leadership  was  lacking  and  the  movement  was 
temporarily  abandoned.21 

The  revival  of  this  plan  and  its  successful  execution  are  to 
be  credited  to  James  G.  Birney,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  at 
this  time  a  slaveholder  of  Huntsville,  Alabama.  Birney  had 
become  interested  in  colonization  of  free  Negroes  about  1830, 
but  continued  to  hold  slaves  without  any  thought  of  making  war 
upon  slavery  as  an  institution.  According  to  his  own  statement 
he  could  not  remember  a  time  when  he  thought  slavery  right, 
but  he  confined  his  efforts  to  preventing  importations,  abolish 
ing  slave  markets,  and  securing  kind  treatment  for  slaves. 2  2  He 
never  bought  a  slave  in  the  market,  and  sold  those  he  owned  only 
when  he  found  that  there  was  no  other  way  of  securing  their 
kind  treatment,  being  himself  dependent  upon  an  overseer.  Bir 
ney  was  at  this  time  a  good  representative  of  many  of  the  south- 

"  Western  Luminary,  February  16,  1831.  Quoted  also  in  the  Liberator,  March  26, 
1831.  Similar  notices  appeared  in  a  number  of  Kentucky  papers. 

"  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  133. 

"Among  those  of  reputations  who  identified  themselves  with  the  movement  were 
Rev.  John  C.  Young,  Rev.  J.  D.  Paxon,  Judge  John  Green,  Daniel  Yeiser,  William  Armstrong, 
James  McDowell,  Thomas  T.  Skillman,  and  Robert  J.  Breckinridge. 

The  Western  Luminary,  March  26,  1831;  The  Liberator,  April  16.  30,  1831.  In  this 
last  number  Garrison  said  that  36  names  had  been  added  to  the  charter  members  and  that 
There  is  some  hope,  therefore,  that  many  children  of  the  present  generation  of  slaves  in 
Kentucky  may  escape  the  doom  of  their  parents." 

"  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  44,  46,  104,  111-114. 


70     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

ern  slaveholders  who  were  convinced  that  slavery  was  an  evil 
but  did  not  clearly  see  a  way  to  abolish  it. 2  3 

In  the  summer  of  1832  Birney  unexpectedly  received  from 
the  American  Colonization  Society  an  appointment,  which  he 
accepted,  as  its  agent  for  the  states  of  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  and  Tennessee.24  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he 
proceeded  to  organize  colonization  societies  and  to  lecture  in  the 
principal  cities  in  these  states.25  As  a  result  of  this  work  he  be 
came  a  thorough  student  of  slavery  and  acquired  an  increased 
interest  in  the  Negro,  but  he  soon  saw  the  hopelessness  of  coloni 
zation  as  a  remedy  for  slavery,  and  in  1833  he  gave  up  the  work 
and  removed  to  his  native  state.26 

Birney  had  displayed  from  the  beginning  an  interest  in  the 
movement  in  Kentucky  to  provide  for  the  liberation  of  the  off 
spring  of  slaves  and  had  written  a  number  of  letters  to  the  leaders, 
particularly  to  Thomas  Skillman,  approving  the  plan  and  urging 
them  to  renewed  efforts.  Upon  his  return  to  Kentucky,  in  1833, 
he  entered  into  the  slavery  controversy  with  all  his  energy.  Be 
fore  leaving  Alabama  he  had  written  to  the  early  signers  of  the 
petition,  urging  them  to  issue  a  call  for  a  convention  at  Lexing 
ton  to  carry  out  the  plan.27  In  compliance  with  his  wishes  a 
call  was  issued  for  December,  1833,  but  some  of  the  signers  now 
avowed  a  change  of  opinion  and  others  declined  to  attend  the 
meeting.  Some  had  doubts,  and  others  thought  the  con 
vention  ill-timed.  As  a  result  only  nine  persons,  all  slavehold 
ers,  were  present,  but  a  formal  organization  was  nevertheless 
effected,28  under  the  name  of  "The  Kentucky  Society  for  the 
Relief  of  the  State  from  Slavery."  The  society  was  connected 
with  no  other  organization.  The  members  pledged  themselves 
to  emancipate  all  slaves  born  their  property  thereafter  on  their 
reaching  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  their  offspring  with 
them.  This,  the  only  pledge  required,  was  given  by  the  members 
in  honor  and  with  good  feeling.  There  was  no  plan  for  coercion 
and  any  member  might  withdraw  who  felt  disposed  to  do  so. 
Through  the  influence  of  Birney  the  membership  was  thrown 
open  to  all  classes  in  the  community. 2  9  By  the  end  of  1834,  six 
ty  or  seventy  men  had  subscribed  to  the  pledge  required  by  the 

11  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  24,  34,  38,  40. 

"  Ibid.,  pp.  110-130. 

»  Ibid. 

"  Ibid., -pp.  130-140. 

»  Ibid.,  p.  132.     See  also  The  Liberator,  June  23,  1832. 

"  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  133-134. 

"  Western  Luminary,  March  5,  1834;  "Address  of  J.  G.  Birney  in  the  Court  House  at 
Lexington,  explanatory  of  the  principles,  etc.,  of  The  Kentucky  Society  for  the  Relief  of  the 
State  from  Slavery."  This  was  quoted  also  in  the  African  Repository,  Vol.  10,  pp.  43-46. 


Anti-Slaver \   Societies — Garrisoman   Abolition   1830-1840     71 

society,  and  a  number  of  auxiliary  branches  had  been  organized, 
but  soon  after  this  the  society  suffered  another  relapse  which  end 
ed  a  few  months  later  in  its  dissolution.  A  contributing  cause 
was  the  rise  of  the  radical  abolitionists  in  the  North  and  the  as 
sociation  of  James  G.  Birney  with  their  activities  in  Kentucky. 
An  account  of  the  formation  of  a  similar  society  under  the 
name  of  "The  Ashmun  Association,  "having  as  its  object  the  grad 
ual  and  voluntary  emancipation  of  the  slaves  of  the  state,  is 
found  in  the  Lexington  Observer,  February  24,  1832.  The  con 
stitution  is  quoted  in  full,  the  preamble  of  which  is  as  follows: 
"And  whereas  the  Colonization  Society  has  to  do  with  those  only 
who  are  already  free  or  are  freed  for  the  special  purpose  of  being 
transported  to  their  native  country;  And  whereas  great  dif 
ference  of  opinion  exists  among  the  politicians  of  our  country  in 
relation  to  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  States  to  pass  laws  for 
the  universal  emancipation ;  And  whereas  the  policy  of  sudden 
and  universal  emancipation,  and  especially  for  those  who  are 
emancipated  to  remain  among  us,  is  doubted  by  many;  And 
whereas  we  presume  that  no  objection  can  be  urged  against 
individual  efforts  or  a  combination  of  individual  efforts  for 
their  gradual  emancipation  and  transportation  which  neither 
have  for  their  object  nor  do  in  any  respect  increase  the  existing 
evil.  We,  therefore,  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky 
agree  to  form  ourselves  into  an  association  according  and  subject 
to  the  following  resolutions."30  The  most  important  provision 
of  the  constitution  of  this  society  was  this:  uWe  promise  and 
agree  that  each  and  every  male  and  female  child  of  color  to 
which  we  have  the  right  of  property  as  a  slave,  that  have  been 
or  shall  be  born  after  the  day  and  date  written  after  our  names, 
respectively,  shall  be  born  free,  according  to  the  following  stipula 
tions  and  provisions,  to  wit:  That  the  said  child  or  children  shall 
be  held  and  considered  as  bound  to  us  who  claim  and  hold  the 
legal  right  to  it  or  them  as  apprentices  or  wards  to  our  orders 
and  discretion  until  the  age  of  twenty-five  if  male  and  twenty  if 
female,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  we  will  permit  him,  her 
or  them  to  be  sent  by  the  Colonization  Society  to  Africa,  or  if 
the  said  society  have  not  the  means  sufficient  for  the  transpor 
tation  thither  we  will  either  furnish  them  ourselves  or  hire  the 
said  wards  to  the  lowest  bidder  in  relation  to  the  time  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  them  *  *  *  ."31  Annual  meetings  of  the 

90  Lexington    Observer,  February  24.    1832.     Any  connection  with  the  colonization 
or  anti-slavery  societies  was  disavowed. 

•>  Lexington  Observer,  February  24,  1832. 


72     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

society  were  to  be  held  each  year  in  Frankfort  and  efforts 
were  to  be  made  to  form  auxiliary  societies  in  each  county 
in  the  state.  The  constitution  of  the  society  together  with 
a  memorial  signed  by  the  members  was  sent  to  the  legisla 
ture  of  Kentucky  in  1832,  setting  forth  the  purposes  of  the 
order  and  praying  that  "such  laws  be  passed  as  will  render 
effectual  the  purposes  of  the  Association."32  The  society 
at  its  organization  contained  about  fifty  members,  all  of 
whom  appear  to  have  been  slaveholders.33  A  correspondent 
in  the  Lexington  Observer  the  following  month  in  commenting 
upon  the  society  made  this  criticism  of  it:  "The  plan  is  too  weak 
and  ineffectual  to  accomplish  much;  for  not  many  I  apprehend, 
who  own  large  numbers  of  slaves  will  join  the  society.  Secondly 
it  is  too  unequal ;  for  a  few  would  bear  all  the  burthen  of  the  great 
work  and  all  reap  the  benefits."34  Nothing  further  has  been 
found  concerniEg  this  society.  In  all  probability  no  meeting 
was  held  after  1833. 

The  societies  of  the  early  thirties  are  significant  in  that  they 
were  composed  of  slaveholders  who  regarded  slavery  not  only 
as  morally  wrong  but  as  hostile  to  the  best  interests  of  the  state. 
Although  their  numerical  strength  was  never  great,  the  character 
of  the  men  associated  with  them  caused  the  undertaking  to  be 
seriously  considered.  The  anti-slavery  sentiment  that  existed 
at  any  given  time  or  place  can  not  be  judged  solely  by  the  num 
ber  of  members  of  such  societies  in  the  slave  states.  Regardless 
of  their  program  such  organizations  were  regarded  with  sus 
picion  and  consequently  many  of  the  anti-slavery  sympathizers 
and  workers  refused  to  join  with  them.  Nor  would  the  political 
leaders  affiliate  with  them  lest  they  should  thereby  counteract 
their  own  or  their  party's  success.  The  fact  that  the  anti-slav 
ery  societies  of  Kentucky  at  no  time  embraced  in  their  member 
ship  more  than  one  out  of  every  two  thousand  voters,  while  the 
anti-slavery  forces  at  all  times  previous  to  the  Civil  War  repre 
sented  a  strong  minority  in  the  legislature  and  at  the  polls  sub 
stantiates  this  point. 

Another  type  of  anti-slavery  organization  commonly  spoken 
of  as  Modern  Abolitionism,  or  Garrisonian  Abolitionism, 
which  embraced  immediate,  unconditional  emancipation  on  the 
soil,  came  into  existence  about  1830.  While  previous  to  this 

«  Lexington  Observer,  February  24,  1832. 

"  Miles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  42.  p.  300. 

14  The  Lexington  Observer,  March  2,  1832.  The  writer  proposed  a  plan  for  levying 
a  tax  of  1  per  cent,  upon  slave  property  to  be  used  for  the  transportation  of  free  Negroes 
and  manumitted  slaves  to  Africa. 


Anti-Slavery  Societies — Garrisonian  Abolition   1830-1840    73 

date  these  doctrines  had  been  advocated  by  a  number  of  men, 3  6 
yet,  owing  to  the  state  of  public  opinion  both  in  the  North  and 
in  the  South  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  they  had  attracted  no  spe 
cial  attention.  In  the  meantime,  however,  the  South,  on  account 
of  the  extensive  development  of  cotton  planting  and  consequent 
ly  of  slavery,  was  becoming  more  and  more  reconciled  to  the  ex 
istence  of  the  institution,  while  the  opposite  conditions  prevailed 
in  the  North,  where  the  economic  aspect  of  the  question  was  dis 
appearing  and  the  moral  aspect  was  demanding  and  receiving 
increased  attention. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  country  when  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  identified  himself  with  the  movement  about  1830. 
He  was  a  remarkable  man  and  his  special  abilities  enabled  him 
to  take  advantage  of  the  achievements  of  the  past  thirty  years 
and  to  utilize  them  to  the  fullest  extent.  He  added  a  new  inter 
est  and  forcefulness  to  the  movement.  There  was  no  mistak 
ing  his  purposes  when  he  declared  in  the  first  number  of  the  Lib 
erator  that  he  would  "be  as  harsh  as  truth,  and  as  uncompromis 
ing  as  justice.  *  '  I  am  in  earnest;  I  will  not  equivocate;  I  will 
not  excuse;  I  will  not  retreat  a  single  inch  and  I  will  be  heard."3  6 
This  uncompromising  program  adopted  and  pursued  by  him  im 
mediately  aroused  the  opposition  of  the  South  as  well  as  that 
of  a  very  large  element  in  the  North,  and  at  the  same  time  fired 
his  followers  with  enthusiasm  and  determination.  The  move 
ment  spread  rapidly  into  all  sections  of  the  North. 

The  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  advocating  immediate 
emancipation  was  organized  in  1833.  Two  years  later  it  em 
braced  225  auxiliary  branches.  But  this  was  not  accomplished 
without  strenuous  opposition,  which  often  resulted  in  riots  and 
mob  violence.38 

The  sentiment  in  the  slave  states  was  of  course  even  more 
pronounced  in  its  opposition  to  abolition  propaganda,  than  in 

*»  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  169.  Adams:  "Anti-Slavery  in 
America,"  pp.  59-62,  80. 

The  most  important  were  Charles  Osborne,  George  Bourne,  John  Rankin,  and  Jamea 
Duncan. 

»•  The  Liberator,  January  1,  1831. 

"  Clarke:  "Anti-Slavery  Days,"  p.  36;  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times," 
p.  142. 

w  Clarke:     "Anti-Slavery  Days,"  p.  36;  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times," 

There  were  mobs  all  over  the  North,  wherever  anti-slavery  missionaries  went.  July 
4,  1834,  a  mob  in  New  York  City  sacked  the  house  of  Louis  Tappan.  At  the  same  time,  the 
•chool  houses  and  churches  of  colored  people  were  attacked  and  damaged.  August  31,  1834, 
there  was  a  riot  in  Philadelphia,  which  continued  for  three  nights.  Forty-four  houses  of 
Negroes  were  damaged  or  destroyed.  Many  blacks  were  beaten  and  cruelly  injured  and  some 
were  killed.  In  the  year  1835  Rev.  Samuel  J.  May  was  mobbed  five  times  in  the  state  of 
Vermont.  October  21,  1835,  there  was  a  riot  in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  another  on  the  same  day 
in  the  city  of  Boston,  where  the  meeting  of  the  Women's  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  broken 
up,  and  Garrison  was  carried  through  the  streets  with  a  rope  around  his  body. 


74     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to 

the  North  although  in  Kentucky  the  fears  and  suspicions  of  the 
people  were  not  so  early  or  so  generally  aroused  on  the  subject 
as  in  other  sections  of  the  South.39  From  the  beginning  of  the 
Modern  Abolition  movement,  however,  the  question  constant 
ly  demanded  and  received  more  and  more  attention,  especially 
after  the  abolitionists  had  begun  an  active  participation  in  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  state.40 

Soon  after  the  dissolution  of  the  gradual  emancipation  soci 
ety,  James  G.  Birney,  one  of  the  most  active  and  influential  mem 
bers  of  that  body,  espoused  the  cause  of  immediate  abolition. 
On  the  19th  of  March,  1835,  a  year  frequently  referred  to  by  the 
writers  on  slavery  as  the  "mob  year,"  he  was  instrumental  in 
organizing  at  Danville  the  Kentucky  Anti-Slavery  Society,  aux 
iliary  to  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society.  The  new  organ 
ization,  which  was  composed  of  forty  charter  members,  all  of 
whom  were  non-slaveholders,  although  a  number  of  them  had 
only  recently  manumitted  their  slaves,  elected  Professor  Buchanan 
of  Centre  College  as  president. 4 1 

The  subject  of  immediate  abolition  was  freely  discussed  in 
Danville  for  some  time.  Mr.  Birney  held  a  number  of  public 
debates  with  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Young.  Little  or  no  opposition  was 
encountered  at  first,  but  the  movement  did  not  prosper  as  he  had 
anticipated.  In  a  letter  to  Gerrit  Smith,  March  21,  1835,  Bir 
ney  made  the  following  comment  on  the  prospects  of  the  society : 
"Immediate  emancipation  will  have  to  be  sustained  here  by  the 
comparatively  poor  and  humble.  The  aristocracy,  created  and 
sustained  by  slavery,  will  be  ugly  enemies — aye,  and  they  will  be 
so  almost  to  our  extermination."  4  2 

Shortly  after  the  organization  of  the  society,  Birney  issued 
proposals  for  the  publication  at  Danville  of  an  abolition  paper, 
The  Philanthropist,  the  first  number  of  which  was  to  appear  the 
1st  of  August.43  No  sooner  had  the  principles  of  the  society 
and  of  The  Philanthropist  and  their  connection  with  the  Ameri- 

19  The  Commonwealth,  for  December  26,  1838,  declared  that  Kentucky  had  been 
passive  while  the  southern  states  had  been  raising  a  great  outcry,  believing  "that  time  and 
reflection  would  bring  back  those  misguided  and  wicked  disturbers  of  her  repose  to  a  sense 
of  justice  and  propriety." 

«  As  early  as  April  24,  1835,  the  Louisville  Public  Advertiser,  one  of  the  strongest 
pro-slavery  papers  in  the  state,  made  the  following  protest  against  northern  interference  in 
the  domestic  affairs  of  Kentucky:  "Pamphlets  and  periodicals  are  published  in  the  North 
and  circulated  in  the  South  with  a  view  to  stir  up  servile  war — and  these  publications  are 
followed  by  attempts  to  prepare  the  public  mind  to  refuse  aid  to  the  South  in  the  event  of  an 
Insurrection.  The  truth  is,  all  this  clamor  against  slavery — all  the  attempts  that  have  been 
made  to  stir  up  a  servile  war,  have  originated  in  the  public  hostility  of  Northern  politicians 
to  the  people  of  the  slaveholding  States." 

41  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  156-157.  See  also  The  Liberator, 
May  16,  1835;  Amos  Dresser:  "Narrative  of  Amos  Dresser,"  p.  5. 

41  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  his  Times,"  p.  157. 

4«  Ibid.,  p.  179. 


Anti-Slavery  Societies — Garrisonian  Abolition   1830-1840    75 
f 

can  An ti -Slavery  Society  become  known  than  opposition  to  the 
undertaking  was  expressed  in  all  parts  of  the  state.  Mass  meet 
ings  were  held  and  resolutions  adopted  in  which  the  citizens  pre 
sent  pledged  themselves  to  prevent  the  publication  of  The  Phil 
anthropist  "peaceably  if  we  can,  forcibly  if  we  must."  Threats 
of  violence  were  made  against  any  and  all  men  who  should  coun 
tenance  the  paper  or  aid  in  its  circulation.  A  mass  meeting  at 
Danville  appointed  an  executive  committee  of  thirty-three  per 
sons  to  address  to  Mr.  Birney  a  letter  of  remonstrance  and  to 
"take  such  other  steps  as  might  be  necessary."44  In  this  letter, 
dated  July  12,  occurs  the  following  significant  passage:  "We  ad 
dress  you  now  in  the  calmness  and  candor  that  should  charac 
terize  law-abiding  men,  as  willing  to  avoid  violence  as  they  are 
willing  to  meet  extremity,  and  advise  you  of  the  peril  that  must 
and  inevitably  will  attend  the  execution  of  your  purpose.  We 
propose  to  you  to  postpone  the  setting  up  of  your  press  and  the 
publication  of  your  paper  until  application  can  be  had  to  the 
Legislature,  who  will  by  a  positive  law  set  rules  for  your  observ 
ance,  or,  by  a  refusal  to  act,  admonish  us  of  our  duty.  We  ad 
monish  you,  sir,  as  citizens  of  the  same  neighborhood,  as  members 
of  the  same  society  in  which  you  live  and  move,  and  for  whose 
harmony  and  quiet  we  feel  the  most  sincere  solicitude,  to  beware 
how  you  make  an  experiment  here  which  no  American  slavehold- 
ing  community  has  found  itself  able  to  bear."45 

Mr.  Birney  flatly  refused  to  accede  to  this  proposition46 
whereupon  the  committee  bought  out  the  printer  and  threat 
ened  to  use  violence  against  anyone  who  should  engage  himself 
to  assist  in  this  undertaking. 4  7  Encouraged  by  the  Postmaster 
General,  Amos  Kendall,  the  postmaster  at  Danville,  declared  his 
intention  of  excluding  the  publication  from  the  mails. 4  8  By  the 
middle  of  September  it  had  become  manifest  to  Mr.  Birney  that 
an  anti-slavery  paper  could  not  be  published  at  Danville.49 
Shortly  afterward  he  moved  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  en 
tered  even  more  actively  into  anti-slavery  work. 5  °  His  departure 
marked  the  disappearance  of  the  Kentucky  Anti-Slavery  Society. 

44  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times."  p.  180. 

41  Birney:  "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  pp.  180-181.  This  letter  was  written 
by  a  Whig  member  of  Congress. 

44  Ibid.,  p.  181. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  182. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  184. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  183. 

"  See  "Narrative  of  the  Late  Riotous  Proceedings  against  the  Liberty  of  the  Press  in 
Cincinnati  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Ohio  Anti-Slavery  Society,"  Pamphlet.  At 
Cincinnati  he  began  the  publication  of  The  Philanthropist.  After  a  few  numbers,  however, 
had  been  issued  the  printing  establishment  was  destroyed  by  a  mob  and  he  was  again  forced 
to  move  in  order  to  continue  the  publication  of  the  paper. 


76     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

Brief  as  was  its  existence  the  organization  and  activities  of 
this  society  produced  a  profound  impression  upon  the  people  of 
Kentucky.  Modern  abolition  had  become  a  real  issue  and  all 
classes,  regardless  of  creed  or  party,  joined  in  its  condemnation. 
Determined  to  check  the  spread  of  the  doctrine,  they  organized 
secret  societies  in  various  parts  of  the  state  with  the  avowed  ob 
ject  of  protecting  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  people  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  North.  Sectional  jealousy,  which  had  not 
been  pronounced  in  Kentucky  previous  to  this  date,  seemed  now 
to  be  in  process  of  formation. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  historian  the  effect  of  Garri- 
sonian  abolition  upon  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  Kentucky 
must  be  regarded  as  particularly  significant.  While  substantial 
progress  toward  emancipation  was  being  made  in  the  early  thir 
ties  the  reaction  against  immediate  abolition  stayed  all  progress 
toward  gradual  emancipation  and  caused  the  state  to  range  it 
self  alongside  the  other  slaveholding  states  in  resistance  to  ag 
gression  from  without.  Some  evidence  of  this  is  found  in  the 
attitude  of  the  churches  and  of  the  religious  press. 

In  1835  the  annual  conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis 
copal  church  in  Kentucky  adopted  resolutions,  in  which  it  ar 
raigned  the  abolitionists  and  the  anti-slavery  associations  by 
whose  acts  "the  peace  and  quiet  of  a  large  portion  of  the  nation 
are  disturbed,  and  their  common  interest,  laws  and  safety  placed 
in  jeopardy."51 

An  extract  from  an  editorial  in  the  Baptist  Banner  (Ken 
tucky)  for  the  same  year  indicates  the  reasons  for  this  opposi 
tion-  "There  has  been  considerable  excitement  of  late  in  the 
southern  and  western  portions  of  our  country,  in  relation  to  the 
efforts  of  certain  meddling  individuals  to  effect  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  We  do  not  know  that  it  may  be  the  purview  of  a  re 
ligious  periodical  to  notice  these  movements.  But  as  the  agi 
tators  of  this  subject  make  religion  a  cloak  to  subserve  their 
ends,  it  becomes  its  professors  everywhere  to  condemn  it.  We 
will  not  pretend  to  discuss  the  question  of  slavery.  That  it  is 
an  evil — a  curse,  we  admit  and  deplore.  But  while  we  admit  this, 
we  condemn  as  irreligious  and  as  tending  to  the  worst  conse 
quences  the  course  pursued  by  the  abolitionists.  It  is 

11  Redford:  "Western  Cavaliers,"  p.  149.  The  Methodist  General  Conference  which 
met  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1836,  passed  a  resolution  bitterly  opposing  modern  abolitionism. 
They  further  disclaimed  any  right,  wish  or  intention  to  interfere  in  the  civil  and  political 
relations  between  master  and  slave  as  they  existed  in  the  slaveholding  states.  The  opinion 
of  the  Conference  was  expressed  against  any  further  agitation  of  the  subject  in  the  General 
Conference.  Journals  of  the  General  Conferences. 


Anti-Slavery  Societies — Garrisonian  Abolition   1830-1840    77 

not  to  the  master  but  to  the  slave  they  speak.  They  use  every 
endeavor  to  put  their  incendiary  publications  into  the  hands  of 
the  slave  to  arouse  him  to  a  sense  of  his  wrongs  and  to  excite 
him  to  a  vindication  of  his  rights.  *  :  Tell  us  not  that  Chris 
tianity  favors  such  things.  There  were  slaves  in  the  days  of  the 
Saviour  and  He  was  not  an  abolitionist.  *  The  apostles 

said,  'Be  obedient  to  your  masters.'  *  *  Taking  this  as  our 
rule  of  judgment  when  we  see  men  whose  acts  are  calculated 
to  excite  the  slaves  to  the  worst  and  most  horrid  deeds  of 
rapine  and  bloodshed  we  can  not  call  them  misguided  philan 
thropists  or  enthusiastic  Christians;  but  revolutionists  and 
assassins."52 

The  Western  Presbyterian  Herald  in  reviewing  the  prin 
ciples  advocated  by  the  abolitionists  said:  "These  sentiments 
are  plainly  subversive  to  all  government,  and  are  too  deeply  dan 
gerous,  corrupting  and  revolutionary  to  be  promulgated  under 
the  sanction  of  any  society  which  cherishes  the  expectation  of 
receiving  a  portion  of  the  public  favor  and  of  doing  good  to  any 
portion  of  mankind.  *  Freedom  of  speech  is  to  be  dis 

tinguished  from  licentiousness.  No  man  has  a  moral  right  to 
use  the  power  of  speech  in  defiance  of  reason  and  revelation, 
or  to  disseminate  through  the  press  doctrines  as  obnoxious  to 
the  interests  of  society  as  those  which  characterized  the  French 
Revolution,  and  which  disgrace  the  worst  infidel  school  of  the 
day."53 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  uniform  impression  among  the 
great  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  state,  that  the  abolition 
movement  was  wrong  as  it  stood  related  to  the  political  fabric, 
but  the  exact  character  of  the  wrong  was  not  so  well  defined  in 
the  public  mind  as  to  enable  the  people  to  see  how  a  remedy 
could  be  applied  to  arrest  and  control  the  mischief  that  appeared 

"  Baptist  Banner,  October  3,  1835.  See  also  September  19,  1835.  In  1835,  at  Nash 
ville,  Tennessee,  a  vigilance  committee,  composed  of  sixty  members,  twenty-seven  of  whom 
were  church  members,  including  one  ordained  minister  and  a  number  of  deacons  of  the  various 
churches,  tried  and  publicly  whipped  Amos  Dresser,  a  young  theological  student,  on  the 
charge  of  circulating  anti-slavery  literature.  He  was  engaged  in  selling  the  "Cottage"  Bible 
during  his  vacation.  Being  a  member  of  an  anti-slavery  society  in  Ohio,  he  had  thoughtlessly 
carried  some  of  its  publications  with  him  and  these  were  found  in  his  possession.  Nashville 
Banner,  August  12,  1835;  Amos  Dresser:  "Narrative  of  Amos  Dresser,"  pp.  1-6. 

"  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  September  28,  1837.  The  Commonwealth  for  August 
29,  1835,  gives  the  following  explanation  for  the  attitude  of  the  South  toward  the  abolitionists: 
In  times  of  great  excitement  strong  measures  most  usually  prevail  and  the  abolitionists  have 
been  told  of  a  doom  which  awaits  them  should  they  dare  penetrate  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
tlave  states.  That  death,  instant  and  terrible,  will  await  tampering  with  the  slaves  is  certain. 
Can  the  South  be  blamed  for  this?  Assuredly  not.  Self-protection  is  the  law  of  nature  which 
will  assert  its  supremacy  at  every  hazard.  So  long  as  the  domestic  relations  continue  to  bind 
man  to  man— so  long  as  the  security  in  the  possession  of  property  is  esteemed  an  essential 
right,  men  will  protect  the  one  from  invasion  and  the  other  from  plunder.  That  slavery  is 
a?  eJ  u°  p?ople  kn°w  better  than  those  people  who  own  slaves.  They  know,  too,  what  are 
the  depths  of  its  roots — what  would  be  the  consequences  of  its  instant  abolition." 

For  further  references  on  this  subject  see  the  numbers  for  April    18,  November  14  and 


78     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

to  be  growing  out  of  this  agitation.  Any  examination  of  the 
newspapers  and  the  literature  during  the  years  between  1830 
and  1840  shows  conclusively  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  were 
practically  unanimous  in  their  opposition  to  modern  abolition 
ism.  The  activities  of  the  abolitionists  and  the  abuses  heaped 
upon  them  by  the  papers  in  all  parts  of  the  country  naturally 
culminated  in  mob  violence,  as  has  been  noted.  The  papers 
in  Kentucky,  as  elsewhere,  were  exceedingly  severe  in  their  de 
nunciations  and  in  many  instances  made  threats  that  might 
easily  be  construed  as  sanctioning  radical  action  though  they 
consistently  opposed  mob  violence.54  In  1837  the  Louisville 
Journal  declared  that  the  abolitionists  could  be  defeated  only 
by  ''moderation,  truth,  tolerance — that  these  are  the  only 
means  to  disarm  them  of  their  fanatical  doctrines  and  that  vio 
lence,  outrage  and  persecution  will  infallibly  inflame  their  zeal, 
enlarge  their  numbers  and  increase  the  power  of  their  dangerous 
doctrines."55  The  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  a  paper  that 
strongly  condemned  abolition,  voiced  the  attitude  of  the  Ken 
tucky  press  when  it  said:  "The  liberty  of  the  press  should  be 
sustained;  mob  violence  should  be  discountenanced,  not  for  the 
sake  of  abolitionism,  nor  in  fact  for  the  sake  of  any  other  cause 
good  or  bad,  but  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  righteousness  and  for 
the  great  principle  of  civil  and  political  liberty."56 

•<  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  November  30,  1837.  An  editorial  in  this  number 
stated  that  the  papers  in  Kentucky  had  opposed  mob  violence  in  dealing  with  the  abolitionists. 
The  papers  were  unanimous  in  their  condemnation  of  the  action  of  the  mob  at  Alton.  111., 
some  of  which  characterized  the  act  as  murder.  See  Clarke:  "Anti-Slavery  Days,"  p.  25; 
Philanthropist,  November  21,  28,  1837. 

"  Louisville  Journal,  November  11,  1837.     • 

*•  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  January  25,  1838.  Maysville  Eagle,  November  18, 
1837,  took  a  similar  view. 


THE  KENTUCKY  CHURCHES  AND  SLAVERY 

1830-1850 


CHAPTER    VI 


The  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  which 
was  general  during  the  early  thirties,  found  expression,  as  has 
been  seen  above,  through  the  colonization  and  anti-slavery 
societies.  But  the  outstanding  features  of  the  history  of  the 
anti-slavery  movement  in  Kentucky  between  1830  and  1850  are 
the  attitude  of  the  churches  toward  slavery,  the  passage  of  the 
non-importation  law  in  1833,  the  effort  to  secure  its  repeal, 
and  the  final  effort  and  the  failure  to  effect  emancipation  in  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1849.  The  present  chapter  will 
be  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  attitude  of  the  churches  toward 
slavery  during  this  period.1 

The  duty  of  looking  after  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  slaves 
devolved  upon  the  churches.  There  were  few  churches  in  the 
South  that  did  not  have  Negro  communicants;  and  in  some 
instances  the  colored  members  outnumbered  the  white.2 

The  Methodists  and  the  Baptists,  the  principal  denom 
inations  in  the  South,  always  paid  a  great  deal  of  attention 
to  the  religious  welfare  of  slaves.  Consequently,  the  Negro 
was  attracted  to  those  churches.  Their  doctrines  he  compre 
hended  easily,  and  the  emotional  character  of  the  service  ap 
pealed  to  him.  In  the  Methodist  church,  ministers  were  ap 
pointed  each  year  to  devote  their  entire  time  to  missionary 
work  among  the  slaves,  thus  securing  a  powerful  hold  on  them.3 

The  Methodists  of  Kentucky  appear  to  have  been  as  dili 
gent  in  the  enforcement  of  the  rules  laid  down  by  the  General 

1  See  supra,  pp.  20-24,  34-42. 

1  Spencer:  "History  of  the  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  1,  p.  742;  Vol.  2,  p.  158.  Of 
the  697  members  of  the  Louisville  Baptist  Church  in  1841,  559  were  colored.  (Ibid.,  Vol. 
2,  p.  21).  In  1861  the  Elkhorn  Association  (Baptists)  had  7,760  members,  of  whom  5,089 
were  colored.  See  also  J.  G.  Birney :  "American  Churches  the  Bulwark  of  American  Slavery," 
p.  24;  Collins:  "Historical  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  p.  131.  The  slave  membership  of  the 
Methodist  Church  in  Kentucky  was  8  per  cent  in  1790  and  23  per  cent,  in  1845. 

*  H.  N.  McTyeire:  "History  of  Methodism,"  p.  584.  The  following  announcement  was 
published  in  "The  Directory  of  the  City  of  Lexington,  Kentucky,"  for  1838-39,  p.  85:  "Divine 
service  at  eleven  o'clock  and  at  candle  light  every  Sunday.  This  church  is  under  the  care 
ot  the  Rev.  Isaiah  Whitaker,  Missionary  to  the  people  of  color."  See  also,  Matlack:  "History 
of  American  Slavery  and  Methodism,"  p.  32;  Birney:  "American  Churches  the  Bulwark  of 
American  Slavery,"  p.  2.  According  to  Birney  there  were  in  the  United  States  in  1840  about 
2,700,000  slaves  of  whom  about  200,000  were  church  members,  divided  among  the  denomi 
nations  about  as  follows:  Baptist,  80,000;  Methodist,  80,000;  and  other  denominations, 
40,000,  most  of  whom  were  Presbyterians. 


80     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

Conferences  on  the  subject  of  slavery  as  those  in  any  other  section 
of  the  South.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and  the 
early  years  of  the  nineteenth  centuries,  the  anti-slavery  element 
was  especially  active  in  the  Methodist  church.4  This  activity, 
however,  as  a  result  of  the  increased  importance  of  slavery 
and  the  passage  of  hostile  legislation  by  many  of  the  southern 
states,  became  less  and  less  pronounced  during  the  first  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  This  changed  attitude  is  very 
evident  in  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  church, 
which  was  held  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1836,  when  by  a  vote  of 
120  to  14  the  Conference  disclaimed  any  intention  to  interfere 
with  the  civil  and  the  political  relations  of  master  and  slave  as 
they  existed  in  the  slave  states  of  the  Union.  By  a  vote  of  120 
to  1 1 ,  abolitionism  and  the  work  of  abolitionists  were  condemned 
in  equally  strong  terms  and  two  members  of  the  Conference, 
who  had  attended  and  lectured  at  an  abolition  meeting  in  Cin 
cinnati  the  preceding  night,  were  publicly  censured.5  The 
Discipline,  which  still  strongly  condemned  slavery,  remained 
unchanged,  although  little  effort  was  made  to  enforce  it  in  this 
respect. 

After  1830  some  anti-slavery  activity  continued  to  be 
displayed  in  local  churches  or  conferences  in  Kentucky,  but 
it  soon  showed  signs  of  decadence  and  by  1840  it  had  almost 
entirely  disappeared.  Occasionally  special  cases  were  brought 
before  the  local  conferences  for  consideration,  when  the  rules  of 
the  General  Conference  were  necessarily  taken  into  account. 
One  of  these  cases  occured  in  the  Kentucky  Conference  as  late 
as  1837,  when  Thomas  Lasley,  a  prominent  and  influential 
minister,  was  tried  by  that  body  for  having  violated  the  rules 
of  the  church  regarding  slavery,  as  he  had  come  into  possession 
of  a  number  of  slaves  through  the  will  of  his  deceased  father. 
The  committee  in  charge  of  the  case  according  to  "former 
usages  of  the  Conference  in  similar  cases"  recommended  that 
Mr.  Lasley  be  required  to  issue  deeds  of  emancipation  for  the 
slaves  in  question  as  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Confer 
ence  as  was  practicable.  The  report  of  the  committee  was 
adopted  by  the  Conference.6 

From  this  date  until  the  division  of  the  General  Con 
ference  in  1844  into  the  Northern  and  the  Southern  Con- 

*  See  supra,  pp.  20,  21,  34,  35. 

s  McTyeire:  "History  of  Methodism,"  p.  602.  See  also  Birney:  "American  Churches 
The  Bulwark  of  American  Slavery,"  p.  9f.  Quarterly  American  Anti-Slavery  Magazine,  July, 
1837,  p.  378;  "Report  of  the  Second  Anniversary  of  the  Ohio  Anti-Slavery  Society,"  Pamphlet, 
1837,  p.  27. 

•  Redford:     "Western  Cavaliers,"  pp.  202-203. 


The  Kentucky  Churches  and  Slavery — 1830-1850          81 

ferences,  no  important  action  was  taken  on  the  question  of 
slavery  by  the  annual  conferences  of  Kentucky.  While 
the  Kentucky  delegates  in  the  General  Conference  almost 
unanimously  supported  the  southern  churches,  many  of  them 
both  in  the  Conference  and  in  Kentucky  during  the  following 
year  endeavored  to  re-establish  harmonious  relations  between 
the  contending  factions. 7  Henry  Clay,  although  not  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Church,  used  his  influence  to  prevent  a  divi 
sion  of  the  church.  His  attitude,  as  well  as  that  of  many  Method 
ists  of  Kentucky,  is  clearly  expressed  in  a  letter  dated  April 
7,  1845,  and  addressed  to  a  certain  prominent  Methodist  of 
the  South,  in  which  he  said,  "I  will  not  say  that  such  a  separa 
tion  would  necessarily  produce  a  dissolution  of  the  political 
Union  of  these  states;  but  the  example  would  be  fraught  with 
imminent  danger  and  in  co-operation  with  other  causes  un 
fortunately  existing,  its  tendency  on  the  stability  of  the  Con 
federacy  would  be  perilous  and  alarming.  *  *  *  With  fer 
vent  hopes  and  wishes  that  some  arrangement  of  the  difficulty 
may  be  devised  and  agreed  upon  which  shall  preserve  the  church 
in  union  and  harmony,"  he  closed  his  earnest  appeal.8 

Unfortunately  the  efforts  of  Clay  and  others  in  behalf 
of  peace  were  of  no  avail,  and  in  1845  the  Kentucky  Annual 
Conference  by  a  decided  majority  endorsed  the  action  of  their 
delegates  of  the  preceding  year  and  definitely  threw  in  their 
lot  with  the  newly  formed  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.9 
There  were  a  few  instances  in  which  individual  churches  con 
tinued  their  relations  with  the  northern  branch  of  the  church 
and  numerous  instances  in  which  individual  members  refused 
to  affiliate  with  the  southern  branch.10  This  was  especially 
true  of  the  counties  along  the  northern  border  of  the  state. 

From  1845  until  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War,  the  policy 
of  the  Kentucky  Conference  remained  unchanged  in  regard 
to  slavery,  although  numerous  individual  members  of  the  church 
continued  to  work  for  constitutional  emancipation.  Six  members 
of  the  Emancipation  Convention,  which  met  at  Frankfort, 
April  25,  1849,  were  Methodist  ministers.11 

I  Miles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  66,  pp.  192,  208,  240,  256:  Vol.   68,  pp.  166,  167,  186- 
Vol.  69,  p.  55;  The  Liberator,  October  17,  1845. 

•  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  68,  p.  149. 

•  Maysville  Eagle,  May  14,  24,  1849;  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.   68,    pp.    166-167, 
186.     The  vote  in  the  Kentucky  Conference  was  98  to  5  for  separation  from  the  Northern 
Church  (Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  69,  p.  55). 

«  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  68,  p.  334;  The  Liberator,  June  27,  September  12 
1845,  April  17,  1846. 

II  See  below,  note  91,  p.  130. 


82     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to 

The  same  acceptance  of  slavery  as  an  institution  and  the 
same  reluctance  to  enter  upon  dangerous  agitation  are  seen  in 
the  other  leading  churches  of  Kentucky.  The  attitude  of  the 
Baptists  of  Kentucky  toward  anti-slavery  work  is  well  stated 
in  an  editorial  in  the  Baptist  Banner  in  1835.  In  commenting 
upon  the  action  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Association  which 
declared  "the  practice  of  holding  men  in  slavery  to  be  a  violation 
of  the  natural  rights  of  man  and  contrary  to  the  first  principles 
of  the  Gospel,"  the  Banner  objected  to  the  statement  because  it 
"virtually  declares  non-fellowship  for  those  associations  and 
churches  in  which  slavery  is  tolerated,"  and  because  "it  tends  to 
introduce  among  the  Baptists  the  discussion  of  the  most  exciting 
and  dangerous  question  that  ever  agitated  the  country,"  and 
lastly  because  it  is  "calculated  to  do  the  cause  of  emanci 
pation  itself  more  harm  than  good."12  The  Kentucky  asso 
ciations,  since  the  early  part  of  the  century,  had  consistently 
refused  to  be  drawn  into  the  slavery  controversy  and  used 
their  influence  to  prevent  the  individual  churches  from  doing  so. 
The  individual  members  were  left  free  to  act  as  their  consciences 
dictated.13  When  the  northern  branches  of  the  church  found 
how  completely  their  southern  brethren  had  yielded  to  the 
powerful  social  pressure  of  their  local  life,  they  made  a  vigorous 
but  vain  attempt  to  correct  the  tendency.  In  1844-45,  the 
Baptists  of  the  East  and  those  of  the  upper  Northwest  refused  to 
co-operate  with  southern  churches  in  their  insistence  upon  the 
right  to  send  out  missionaries  who  owned  slaves.  A  Southern 
Baptist  church  was  the  immediate  result.14 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Baptist  clergy  and  laity  of  Kentucky 
at  Shelby ville,  in  1845,  it  was  decided  that  the  Kentucky  Bap 
tists  should  identify  themselves  with  the  southern  branch  of 
the  church.15  Little  or  no  opposition  was  manifested  to  this 
action. 

While  the  Presbyterian  churches  of  Kentucky  attracted  a 
smaller  proportion  of  slaves  than  either  the  Methodist  or  the 
Baptist,  they  were  always  much  interested  in  the  Negro's 
welfare.  Their  efforts  in  his  behalf  during  the  late  twenties 
have  been  described  in  the  preceding  pages.10  These  efforts 
continued  unabated  during  the  remainder  of  the  existence  of 


The  Baptist  Banner.  December  19,  1835. 

See  supra,  PP.  19ff,  37-42. 

Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  66,  p.  192. 

Maysville  Eagle,  June  18,  1845;  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  68,  p.  272.  The 
proceed  ngs,  including  the  resolutions  adopted,  are  given  in  the  Frankfort  Commonwealth, 
June  24  1845. 

See  supra,  pp.  36,  37. 


The  Kentucky  Churches  and  Slavery — 1830-1850          83 

slavery.  In  1831  the  West  Lexington  Presbytery  again  reminded 
the  churches  embraced  in  its  membership  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  masters  and  mistresses  to  have  their  servants  taught  to  read 
the  word  of  God.  They  were  instructed  to  pay  especial  attention 
to  the  young  slaves  so  that  none  should  be  permitted  to  grow 
up  without  being  able  to  read  and  they  were  instructed  to  give 
a  Bible  to  every  slave  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  read  it. J  7  This 
is  very  different  from  the  spirit  manifested  in  the  columns  of 
the  Southern  Religious  Telegraph,  a  Presbyterian  paper  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  which  would  prohibit  the  instruction  of 
slaves  in  reading,  and  prevent  the  circulation  of  the  Bible 
among  them,  lest  on  learning  to  read  it  "they  might  be  induced 
to  read  bad  books."18 

Sentiment  in  Kentucky  was,  however,  by  no  means  unan 
imous  in  this  regard.  Schools  established  solely  for  Negroes 
were  often  broken  up  or  the  promoters  were  intimidated,  in  a 
few  instances  as  a  result  of  force,  into  giving  up  the  work.19 
An  undated  manuscript  found  in  the  Draper  Manuscript  col 
lection  is  worthy  of  mention  because  of  its  frank  expression 
in  this  connection  of  the  dangers  which  many  apprehended  from 
the  education  of  the  slaves.  "Previous  to  their  adjournment 
the  Grand  Jury  feel  themselves  irresistibly  impelled  by  a  sense 
of  their  duty,  to  present  as  an  evil  of  the  most  serious  and 
portentious  character,  the  school  which  has  recently  been 
established  in  the  town  of  Lexington  for  the  education  of  the 
slaves.  *  *  *  The  Grand  Jury  do  not  consider  it  either 
necessary  or  proper  in  this  place,  to  detail  the  manifold  evils 
which  inevitably  must  result  from  enlightening  the  minds  of 
those  whose  happiness  obviously  depends  on  their  ignorance, 
and  whose  discontent,  under  the  presence  of  their  bonds,  must 
keep  pace  with  the  progressive  illumination  of  their  minds.* 
Solemnly  impressed  with  these  awful  forebodings  of  future  evils 
the  Grand  Jury  seriously  calls  upon  the  Ministers  of  the  law 
to  exert  their  authority  in  suppressing  the  institution  of  which 


"  Liberator,  April  30,  1831;  see  also  Western  Luminary,  January  24,  1827,  June  3,  1829; 
Rev.  John  Young:  "The  Duty  of  Masters,"  pamphlet,  p.  35;  Western  Presbyterian  Herald, 
January  4.  1838. 

11  The  Liberator,  April  30,  1831,  quoted.  Although  there  was  no  law  in  Kentucky 
prohibiting  the  teaching  of  slaves,  the  pro-slavery  element  always  displayed  considerable 
opposition  to  the  practice.  See  John  Rankin:  "Letters  on  Slavery,"  p.  24;  Western  Citizen, 
October  9,  1824;  J.  G.  Birney:  "American  Churches,  the  Bulwark  of  American  Slavery," 
p.  4. 

11  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  September  28,  1837;  Davidson:  "History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,"  p.  340.  The  acts  were  usually  committed  by  "Vigilance  Commit 
tees"  that  had  been  organized  in  various  parts  of  the  State  for  protection  against  the  ag 
gressions  of  the  North  and  for  putting  down  or  preventing  any  slave  insurrection  that  might 
result  therefrom. 


84     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

they  complain."20  No  other  reference  has  been  found  either 
to  the  presentment  of  the  grand  jury  or  to  any  action  by  the 
government,  but  the  complaint  may  have  been  directed  against 
one  of  the  schools  established  by  the  Presbyterians  of  Lexington, 
since  Lexington  was  a  Presbyterian  stronghold. 

Slavery  came  before  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  in  1832  when 
the  anti-slavery  members  endeavored  to  secure  the  adoption 
of  severe  rules  condemning  slavery.  Among  the  proposals 
before  the  body  was  the  following:  "Resolved,  That  it  is  the 
view  of  this  Synod  that  slavery,  as  it  exists  within  our  bounds, 
is  a  great  moral  evil,  and  inconsistent  with  the  word  of  God, 
and  we  do,  therefore,  recommend  to  all  our  ministers  and  members 
who  hold  slaves,  to  endeavor  to  have  them  instructed  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel  and  to  promote,  in  every  peaceable  way, 
the  interests  of  the  Colonization  Society,  and  to  favor  all 
proper  measures  for  gradual  voluntary  emancipation."  After 
considerable  discussion,  the  resolution  was  laid  on  the  table 
until  the  following  year,  when  it  was  again  brought  before  the 
Synod  for  consideration.  By  a  vote  of  41  to  36  the  following 
substitute  was  offered  and  carried:  "Inasmuch  as  in  the  judg 
ment  of  this  Synod,  it  is  inexpedient  to  come  to  any  decision 
on  the  very  difficult  and  delicate  question  of  slavery,  as  it  ex 
ists  within  our  bounds,  therefore,  Resolved,  That  the  whole 
question  is  indefinitely  postponed."2 *  Upon  the  passage  of  this 
resolution  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  one  of  the  most  active  op 
ponents  of  slavery  in  the  Synod,  arose  from  his  seat  in  the  center 
of  the  house  and  taking  his  hat  in  his  hands  walked  rapidly 
toward  the  door,  saying,  "God  has  left  you,  and  I  also  will 
now  leave  you,  and  have  no  more  correspondence  with  you."22 

But  the  question  of  slavery  was  not  to  remain  so  quietly 
disposed  of.  The  Synod  of  Kentucky,  in  1833,  passed  a  reso 
lution,  "That  the  Synod  believe  that  the  system  of  absolute 
and  hereditary  domestic  slavery,  as  it  exists  among  the  members 
of  our  communion,  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  our  holy 
religion,  *  *  *  and  that  the  continuation  of  the  system  any 
longer  than  is  necessary  to  prepare  itself  for  its  safe  and  bene 
ficial  termination  is  sinful."  The  Presbyteries  and  church 
sessions  and  people  under  their  care  were  earnestly  recommended 

»  Draper  Collection  of  Kentucky  Manuscripts,  Vol.  7,  Worsley  Papers.  Worsley 
was  a  newspaper  owner  and  writer  of  considerable  importance. 

J1  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  p.  338;  William  L.  Breckinridge 
signed  the  resolution  as  Moderator. 

»  Wickliffe:  "Reply  of  Robert  Wickliffe  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge***,"  Pamphlet, 
1841,  p.  60f. 


The  Kentucky  Churches  and  Slavery — 1830-1850          85 

to  commence  immediate  preparations  for  the  termination  of 
slavery  among  them,  "so  that  this  evil  may  cease  to  exist  with 
the  present  generation  and  the  future  offspring  of  our  slaves 
may  be  free."23  Further,  the  Synod  by  a  vote  of  56  to  8 
appointed  a  committee  of  ten  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  instruc 
tion  and  future  emancipation  of  slaves.  The  committee  were: 
Hon.  John  Brown,  chairman;  Judge  Green,  J.  C.  Young,  Thomas 
Porter  Smith,  Esq.,  Charles  N.  Cunningham,  Esq.,  J.  R. 
Alexander,  Esq.,  Rev.  Robert  Stuart,  Rev.  James  K.  Burch, 
Rev.  Nathan  H.  Hall,  and  Rev.  W.  L.  Breckinridge,  men  of 
strong  characters  and  of  wide  influence.24 

It  is  probable  that  this  action  was  due  in  large  measure 
to  James  G.  Birney.  Shortly  before  the  meeting  of  the  Synod, 
Birney,  who  was  a  prominent  Presbyterian,  sent  a  circular 
letter  to  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  the  state,  in  which  he  bitterly  attacked  the  institution  of 
slavery  and  endeavored  to  point  out  the  proper  course  for  the 
church  to  take.25  He  also  talked  freely  along  these  lines 
with  numerous  members  of  the  Synod.26  The  action  taken 
by  the  Synod  compared  with  the  ideas  held  by  Mr.  Birney  at 
that  time  indicates  that  his  influence  must  have  been  very 
great.  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kentucky,  although  not 
so  large  in  membership  as  either  the  Methodist  or  the  Baptist, 
contained  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  state.  Consequently, 
any  action  by  that  body  carried  with  it  unusual  influence. 

In  1835,  the  committee  published  its  proposed  plan  in  a 
pamphlet  of  64  pages,  which  had  been  written  by  J.  C.  Young, 
the  president  of  Centre  College  of  Danville,  Kentucky,  and 
approved  by  the  other  members  of  the  committee.  The  ad 
dress  was  an  able  document.  It  took  a  strong  and  decided 
stand  in  favor  of  gradual  emancipation.  After  fearlessly 
pointing  out  the  numerous  evils  of  slavery  and  answering  ob 
jections  that  were  commonly  raised  the  author  recommended  the 
following  plan:  'The  master  to  retain,  during  a  limited  period, 
and  with  regard  to  the  real  welfare  of  the  slave,  that  authority 
which  he  had  before  held,  in  perpetuity,  and  solely  for  his  own 
interest.  Let  the  full  liberty  of  the  slave  be  secured  against  all 
contingences,  by  a  recorded  deed  of  emancipation  to  take  effect 

J»  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  p.  338;  Emancipator,  October 
26,  1837,  November  4,  1834. 

14  Davidson:  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  p.  338;  J.  G.  Birney:  "American 
Churches  The  Bulwark  of  American  Slavery,"  pp.  25-26. 

"  J.  G.  Birney:  "Letter  to  the  Churches,  to  the  Ministers  and  Elders  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church  of  Kentucky,"  September  2,  1834.  Pamphlet  of  24  pages. 

18  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  146. 


86     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

at  a  specified  time.  In  the  meanwhile,  let  the  servant  be  treated 
with  kindness — let  all  those  things  which  degrade  him  be  re 
moved — let  him  enjoy  means  of  instruction — let  his  moral  and 
religious  improvement  be  sought — let  his  prospects  be  presented 
before  him,  to  stimulate  him  to  acquire  those  habits  of  fore 
sight,  economy,  industry,  activity,  skill  and  integrity,  which  will 
fit  him  for  using  well  the  liberty  he  soon  is  to  enjoy. 

"1.  We  recommend  that  all  slaves  now  under  20  years  of 
age,  and  all  those  yet  to  be  born  in  our  possession,  be  emanci 
pated  as  they  severally  reach  their  25th  year. 

"2.  We  recommend  that  deeds  of  emancipation  be  now 
drawn  up,  and  recorded  in  our  respective  county  courts,  speci 
fying  the  slaves  whom  we  are  about  to  emancipate,  and  the  age 
at  which  each  is  to  become  free. 

"3.  We  recommend  that  our  slaves  be  instructed  in  the 
common  elementary  branches  of  education. 

"4.  We  recommend  that  strenuous  and  persevering  efforts 
be  made  to  induce  them  to  attend  regularly  upon  the  ordinary 
services  of  religion,  both  domestic  and  public. 

"5.  We  recommend  that  great  pains  be  taken  to  teach 
them  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  that,  to  effect  this,  the  instru 
mentality  of  Sabbath-Schools,  wherever  they  can  be  enjoyed,  be 
united  with  that  of  domestic  instruction. 

"These  are  measures  which  all  ought  to  adopt;  and  we  know 
of  no  peculiarity  of  circumstances  in  the  case  of  any  individual, 
which  can  free  him  from  culpability  if  he  neglects  them."27 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  never  acted  upon  by  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky,  although  it  was  published  in  the  Western 
Luminary  and  various  other  papers  in  Kentucky  and  elsewhere. 
The  report  of  the  committee  was  far  in  advance  of  public  senti 
ment  in  the  slave  states.  The  Maysville  Intelligencer,  a  Pres 
byterian  paper  published  at  Maysville,  Tennessee,  was  not 
permitted  to  publish  the  entire  report  of  the  committee  because 
of  a  law  recently  passed  in  that  state  making  it  a  penitentiary 
offense  to  receive  or  publish  any  anti-slavery  paper  or  pamphlet 
in  the  state;  and  parts  of  this  report  were  considered  to  be  in 
this  class  by  the  state  censor.  In  1836,  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  its  annual  meeting  at  Pittsburg,  in 


"  "An  Address  to  the  Presbyterians  of  Kentucky,  Proposing  a  Plan  for  the  Instruc 
tion  and  Emancipation  of  their  Slaves,  by  a  Committee  of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,"  Pamphlet. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  plan  of  gradual  emancipation  proposed  by  the  gradual 
emancipation  societies,  described  above,  is  almost  identical  with  this  plan.  A  comparison 
of  the  names  shows  that  the  same  men  were  back  of  both  movements. 

Davidson:     "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  pp.  339-340. 


The  Kentucky  Churches  and  Slavery — 1830-1850          87 

answer  to  numerous  memorials  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  de 
cided  that  slavery  was  a  political  question  and  that  any  action 
of  the  General  Assembly  with  reference  to  slavery  could  only 
tend  to  divide  the  church.28 

*  The  position  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  had  come  to  be 
almost  identical  with  that  of  the  Baptists  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Churches.  The  churches,  acting  partly  from  a  fear 
inspired  by  the  Garrisonian  abolitionists  and  partly  from  a 
conviction  that  slavery  was  an  established  fact,  were  for  some 
years  to  show  little  interest  in  emancipation. 

The  anti-abolition  campaign  which  was  so  successful  in 
preventing  anti-slavery  discussions  and  work  in  the  state  during 
the  thirties,  lost  most  of  its  force  during  the  early  forties,  when 
free  discussion  was  resumed  and  continued  with  few  interrup 
tions.  This  change  in  sentiment  was  the  result  partly  of  the  re 
newal  of  the  demand  for  the  calling  of  a  constitutional  convention 
with  which  the  question  of  gradual  emancipation  was  asso 
ciated.  This  subject  will  be  discussed  in  Chapter  ix.  . 

The  churches  again  took  up  the  question  of  colonization  and 
education  of  the  slaves  and  used  their  influence  to  encourage 
voluntary  emancipation.  In  1845,  the  Synod  of  Kentucky 
adopted  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the  education  of  the  slaves  of 
the  state  which  was  copied  from  a  similar  resolution  adopted 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Georgia  the  preceding  year.29  In  1846, 
the  Presbyterian  Herald,  the  leading  Presbyterian  journal  in 
the  state,  after  approving  the  resolution  came  out  in  opposition 
to  any  further  agitation  of  the  question.30 

Although  the  church  as  an  organization  refused  to  be  drawn 
into  the  slavery  controversy  after  this  date,  the  members  of 
this  church  were  the  leaders  in  the  campaign  in  1848  and  1849  for 
the  constitutional  abolition  of  slavery.  In  the  emancipation 
convention  held  in  Frankfort,  April  25,  1849,  thirteen  of  the  150 
delegates  were  Presbyterian  ministers.  A  writer  in  the  Prentice 
Review  (Louisville)  in  October,  1849,  asserted  that  "the  Pres 
byterians  have  taken  the  lead  in  the  struggle.  There  is  not 
a  prominent  man  in  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  who  has  not  been 
conspicuous  for  his  zeal  and  efforts  in  behalf  of  emancipation.*  * 
*  As  far  as  we  know,  there  is  not  a  single  Presbyterian  min 
ister  whose  name  is  found  among  the  advocates  of  slavery."31 

"  Miles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  50,  p.  25. 

29  The  Liberator,  January  17,  1845.  The  plan  for  the  education  of  the  slaves  adopted 
by  the  Georgia  Presbytery  was  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  Breckin- 
ridge  papers  for  1845. 

'»  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  October  22,  1846. 

"  The  Prentice  Review,  October,  1849. 


THE  NON-IMPORTATION  LAW  OF  1833  AND  THE 
EFFORTS  TO  SECURE  ITS  REPEAL 


CHAPTER   VII 

Other  indications  of  the  course  of  public  opinion  with 
respect  to  slavery,  in  the  thirties  and  forties,  is  found  in  the 
efforts  in  the  legislature  to  secure  the  passage  of  laws  that  were 
intended  to  bring  about  either  directly  or  indirectly  the  final 
abolition  of  slavery.  These  bills  were  of  two  classes — first, 
those  intended  to  limit  or  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  slaves 
into  the  state,  and  second,  those  intended  to  secure  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery  by  means  of  a  constitutional  provision.  This 
chapter  will  be  concerned  with  the  passage  of  the  Non-Impor 
tation  Law  of  1833  and  the  efforts  to  secure  its  repeal. 

The  domestic  slave  trade  does  not  appear  to  have  been  of 
much  consequence  in  Kentucky  before  1815.1  Soon  after  this 
date,  however,  a  considerable  business  seems  to  have  grown  up 
with  the  southern  states  where  cotton  planting  was  being  de 
veloped  on  a  very  large  scale.  The  unusual  demand  for  slave 
labor  caused  an  extensive  trade  to  be  established  between  the 
border  states,  where  slave  labor  could  be  employed  to  little 
advantage,  and  the  lower,  or  the  cotton  South,2  where  it 
was  very  profitable. 

We  have  no  means  of  determining  definitely  the  extent  to 
which  Kentucky  was  engaged  in  this  trade.  As  early  as  1818, 
Estwick  Evans3  and  Henry  Bradshaw  Fearon,4  both  of  whom 
traveled  extensively  in  the  West,  spoke  of  a  large  number  of 
slaves  that  were  being  sent  down  the  Mississippi  River  to  the 

1  W.  H.  Collins:     "Domestic  Slave  Trade,"  p.  40. 

2  A  letter  published  in  the  Western  Luminary  in  1827  and  copied  in  the  Genius  of 
Universal  Emancipation,  September  15,  1827,  says  that  the  border  States  where  "tobacco 
or  grain  is  the  staple  are  now  nurseries  which  support  the  cotton  grounds  with  human  flesh. 
In  consequence  of  this  there  is  nearly  as  great  a  slave  trade  floating  annually  on  the  Mississippi 
or  its  branches  as  ever  was  wafted  across  the  Atlantic.     The  raising  and  transporting  of  slaves 
to  perish  on  the  cotton  and  sugar  lands  is  what  keeps  up  the  value  in  Kentucky."     J.  F. 
Rhodes:     "History  of  the  United  States,"  Vol.  1,  p.  315.     In  a  speech  before  the  Colonization 
Society  in  1829  (Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the   American   Anti-Slavery   Society, 
Pamphlet,  p.  17)   Henry  Clay  said:     "It  is  believed  that  nowhere  in   the   farming   portion 
of  the  United  States  would  slave  labor  be  generally  employed,  if  the  proprietors  were  not 
tempted  to  raise  slaves  for  the  Southern  markets  which  keeps  it  up  in  his  own." 

»  Estwick  Evans:  "A  Pedestriou's  Tour,"  p.  216,  in  speaking  of  the  extent  of  the 
traffic  in  slaves  in  the  city  of  Natchez,  says:  "There  is  no  branch  of  trade  in  this  part  of  the 
country  more  brisk  and  profitable  than  that  of  buying  and  selling  slaves.  They  are  a  subject 
of  continual  speculation  and  are  daily  brought  together  with  other  live  stock  from  Kentucky 
and  other  places  to  Natchez  and  the  New  Orleans  markets." 

«  Fearon:  "Sketches  of  America,"  p.  268.  He  speaks  of  having  seen  fourteen  flat 
boats  loaded  with  slaves  from  Kentucky,  where  they  had  been  collected  by  dealers  from  the 
border  States. 


Non-Importation  Law,  1833 — Efforts  to  Secure  Its  Repeal    89 

southern  markets.  In  different  parts  of  Kentucky,  dealers 
were  located  who  bought  up  slaves  in  that  and  the  adjoining  states 
and  shipped  them  in  large  gangs  to  the  South.5  The  Hon. 
Robert  Wickliffe,  in  a  speech  in  the  Kentucky  Legislature, 
in  1840,  estimated  that  over  60,000  slaves  had  been  exported 
from  Kentucky  alone  during  the  preceeding  seven  years. 6  This 
estimate  is  doubtless  too  large.  The  evidence,  however,  seems 
to  indicate  that  such  sales  exceeded  5, 000  per  year.  In  addition  to 
the  large  number  of  slaves  annually  sent  out  of  the  state,  there 
was  also  a  considerable  importation  of  slaves  from  Virginia 
and  Maryland  as  well  as  a  large  traffic  in  slaves  within  the  state. 

No  aspect  of  slavery  was  more  objectionable  to  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  Kentucky  than  that  of  buying  and 
selling  slaves  for  profit.  There  were  those,  however,  who  were 
willing  to  endure  the  contempt  that  was  almost  universally 
heaped  upon  the  domestic  slave  trader  in  order  to  reap  the 
large  profits  derived  from  the  business.  There  were  those 
also  in  every  community  who,  though  recognizing  the  inhu 
manity  of  the  slave  trade,  would,  when  necessity  demanded— 
and  many  such  demands  were  made — buy  or  sell  a  slave  or 
slaves  as  their  interests  might  dictate. 

Petitions  were  sent  repeatedly  to  Congress  from  Kentucky 
and  other  parts  of  the  Union  asking  that  body,  which,  according 
to  the  federal  constitution,  had  control  over  interstate  trade, 
to  prohibit  the  inhuman  and  odious  traffic  in  slaves.  Congress, 
however,  adopted  the  theory  that  its  authority  was  limited  to 
the  regulation  of  and  not  to  the  prohibition  of  interstate  trade. 
Since  slaves  were  regarded  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  slave  states  as  property,  it  had  no  power  to 
prohibit  citizens  from  taking  them  either  into  a  state  or  out  of 
it.  Consequently  it  did  not  act  on  the  subject.7  The  indi 
vidual  states,  therefore,  possessed  the  power  of  regulating  all 
trade  within  their  bounds.  Each  could  also  limit  or  even  pro 
hibit  the  importation  of  slaves,  though  it  had  no  authority 

*  John  Rankin:     "Letters  on  Slavery,"  pp.  45-46.     Rankin  mentions  a  number  of  men 
who  engaged  in  the  slave  trade  as  a  regular  business.     (1822).     See  also  Genius  of  Universal 
Emancipation,  October,  1822,  and  Fearon:     "Sketches  of  America."  p.  268. 

*  Cassius  M.  Clay:     "Review  of  the  Late  Canvass,"  p.  8f.     Clay  accepted  these  figures. 
J.  C.  Ballaugh:     "History  of  Slavery  in  Virginia,"  p.  25,  gives  the  exportation  of  slaves  from 
Virginia  as  6,000  annually. 

*  This  position  is  clearly  set  forth  by  Henry  Clay  in  a  speech  in  the  United  States  Senate 
on  "Abolition  Petitions,"  February  7,  1839,  (Annals  of  Congress,  1839,  Vol.  7,  p.  354),  when 
he  said:     "But  I  deny  that  the  general  government  has  any  authority  whatever  from  the 
Constitution  to  abolish  what  is  called  the  slave  trade,  or  in  other  words  to  prohibit  the  removal 
of  slaves  from  one  state  to  another  slave  state.     The  grant  in  the  constitution  is  of  a  power 
of  regulation,  and  not  prohibition.     The  regulation  intended  was  designed  to  facilitate  and 
accommodate,  not  obstruct  and  incommodate  the  commerce  to  be  regulated.*** The  moment 
the  incontestable  fact  is  admitted  that  negro  slaves  are  property,  the  law  of  movable  property 
irresistibly  attaches  itself  to  them  and  secures  the  right  of  carrying  from  one  to  another  state." 


90     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

over  their  exportation.  Laws  regulating  and  limiting  the 
importation  of  slaves  were  passed  at  different  times  by  most 
of  the  slave  states.  The  constitution  of  Kentucky,  adopted 
in  1792,  instructed  the  legislature  to  prohibit  the  importation 
into  the  state  of  all  slaves  that  had  been  brought  into  the  United 
States  from  any  foreign  country  since  1789.8  An  act  designed 
to  accomplish  that  end  was  passed  in  17949  and  amended  in 
1815. 10  These  laws,  while  limiting  and  regulating  importa 
tions  from  other  states,  embodied  a  long  list  of  exceptions, 
which  made  them  of  little  value,  especially  in  the  sections  of 
the  state  where  public  sentiment  favored  a  loose  interpretation 
and  a  mild  enforcement  of  them. 

From  the  late  twenties  the  anti-slavery  workers  in  Kentucky 
directed  much  effort  towards  influencing  public  opinion  in  favor 
of  an  absolute  prohibition  of  the  importation  of  slaves  into  the 
state.  In  this  they  were  prompted  by  a  desire  to  lessen  the 
evils  of  the  slave  system  and  to  prevent,  in  so  far  as  possible, 
the  increase  of  slaves  in  the  state,  so  that  when  a  plan  of  gradual 
emancipation  should  be  agreed  upon  the  difficulties  and  the 
dangers  of  the  undertaking  would  not  be  so  great. 

In  1827,  Franklin  Lodge,  Number  28,  of  the  Masonic 
Order,  located  at  Danville,  Kentucky,  sent  to  each  of  the  members 
of  the  order  in  the  state  a  circular  in  which  the  commerce  in 
slaves  carried  on  by  importations  to  the  state  from  other  slave- 
holding  states  was  declared  to  be  in  conflict  with  the  feelings  of 
benevolence  and  philanthropy  which  it  was  the  duty  of  every 
Mason  to  inculcate.  Such  business  was  declared  to  be  inconsist 
ent  with  the  principles  of  Accepted  Ancient  York  Masonry  and 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  discontinued  by  every  member  of  the 
fraternity.  All  intention  of  interfering  with  the  system  of 
slavery  as  it  existed  in  the  state  was  disavowed.  The  paper 
closed  with  a  warning  to  all  members  of  the  craft  against  par 
ticipating  in  any  way  in  "that  commerce  which  under  the  in 
fluence  of  a  degrading  cupidity  imports  from  other  states  hun 
dreds  of  slaves."11  This  circular  is  significant  in  that  it  shows 
the  sentiment  of  the  enlightened  public  toward  the  domestic 
slave  trade. 


•  Littell:     "Statute  Laws  of  Kentucky."  Vol.  1,  p.  246. 

•  Ibid. 

»  "Acts  of  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  1814-1815."  pp.  435-436. 

11  This  circular  was  issued  March  3,  1827,  and  was  published  in  full  in  the  Western 
Luminary,  October  31.  1827.  It  appeared  also  in  a  number  of  other  papers  in  different  parts 
of  the  state. 


Non-Importation  Law,  1833 — Efforts  to  Secure  Its  Repeal    91 

*  The  churches  of  Kentucky  were  very  pronounced  in  their 
opposition  to  the  trade.  In  1834,  the  Synod  of  Kentucky 
adopted  a  report  in  which  they  drew  a  thrilling  picture  of  the 
cruelties  and  horrors  of  the  traffic  in  slaves,  characterizing  it 
as  a  "flagrant  violation  of  every  principle  of  mercy,  justice, 
and  humanity."12  Similar  sentiments  were  expressed  fre 
quently  by  the  other  denominations. 

A  petition  signed  by  a  large  number  of  citizens  was  pre 
sented  to  the  legislature  in  1828  requesting  the  passage  of 
an  efficient  law  to  put  an  end  to  all  importations  of  slaves 
except  when  they  were  brought  in  by  immigrants  removing 
to  the  state. *  3  The  petitioners  characterized  domestic  slavery 
as  a  "great  moral  and  political  evil,  which  extends  its  baneful 
influence  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  to  the  whole  body  of  society 
in  every  county  where  it  exists,"  and  the  large  yearly  importa 
tions  of  slaves  as  a  "violation  of  an  Act  of  the  Legislature 
and,  as  we  believe,  of  the  laws  of  God." 1 4  A  bill  was  introduced 
in  the  Senate  by  John  Green  embodying  the  suggestions  of 
this  petition  and  stating  further  that  all  slaves  thenceforth 
brought  into  the  state  as  merchandise  and  in  violation  of  the 
act  were  to  be  given  their  freedom  and  were  to  be  entitled  to 
all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  free  persons  of  color. J  5 

In  the  cburse  of  his  defense  of  the  bill,  Mr.  Green  said  he 
believed  that  emancipation  would  take  place  sooner  or  later 
and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  prepare  for  it.  Emancipation 
would  necessarily  be  gradual  and  would  require  many 
years  from  its  commencement  to  its  completion,  and  the 
fewer  the  slaves  in  the  state,  the  more  easily  could 
it  be  accomplished.  This  consideration  was  said  to  be 
the  most  powerful  argument  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  the  bill. 1 6 
The  measure  was  opposed  particularly  by  Mr.  McConnell  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  not  only  inexpedient  but  unconstitu 
tional.  He  declared  that  under  the  section  of  the  constitution 
respecting  slavery,  the  legislature  was  prohibited  from  emanci 
pating  slaves  without  the  consent  of  each  individual  owner. 
To  this  it  was  replied  that  emancipation  or  forfeiture,  by  way 
of  penalty  for  illegal  importation,  was  not  restricted  by  the 

"  Goodell:     "Slavery  and  Anti-Slavery,"  p.  152. 

"  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  January  12,  1828,  quoted  from  the  Western 
Luminary. 

14  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  January  12,  1828,  quoted  from  the  Western 
Luminary. 

11  Kentuckian,  January  10,  1828. 

>•  Spirit  of  Seventy-Six,  January  31.  1828. 


92     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

constitution.17  After  the  bill  had  been  considered  for  some 
days,  and  had  aroused  general  discussion  of  slavery,  it  came  to 
a  vote  and  was  defeated  by  a  very  small  majority. 1 8  It  came 
up  again  during  the  winter  session  of  1828-29,  and  was  again 
defeated  in  the  senate  by  a  vote  of  45  to  5 1.19 

Within  the  next  few  years  numerous  articles  appeared 
in  the  newspapers  discussing  every  phase  of  the  slavery  con 
troversy,  and  particularly  the  proposed  Non-Importation  Law. 
Three  series  of  letters  printed  in  1830  deserve  special  mention. 
The  first,  consisting  of  seven  letters  signed  "B,"  was  written 
by  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  and  was  published  in  the  Kentucky 
Reporter.20  The  second,  signed  "Philo  C,"  written  by  Judge 
John  Green,  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  legis 
lature,  appeared  in  the  Westery  Luminary. 2 1  A  third  and  much 
longer  series,  signed  "C,"  addressed  to  the  legislature  of  Kentucky 
was  written  by  George  Clark,  a  man  whose  talents  were  recog 
nized  throughout  the  state.22  These  letters,  advocating 
gradual  emancipation,  to  be  preceded  by  the  legislative  pro 
hibition  of  the  importation  of  slaves, -were  widely  copied  by 
papers  in  all  sections  of  the  state.  Mr.  Breckinridge  was  forced 
to  resign  his  seat  in  the  legislature  as  a  result  of  this  expression 
of  his  anti -slavery  sentiments. 2  3 

The  Non-Importation  bill  was  again  brought  before  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  1830.  In  defending  the  measure 
Mr.  Love  said  that  the  existing  laws  were  generally  evaded, 
that  he  had  not  known  of  a  single  conviction  in  his  time,  and 
that  the  passage  of  the  bill  would  pave  the  way  for  emancipation, 
which  he  declared  to  be  the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  support 
ers  of  the  bill.  He  said  further  that  if  he  was  given  an  op 
portunity  he  would  support  either  immediate  or  gradual  eman 
cipation.24  Mr.  Daniels  then  spoke  against  the  bill,  because, 
he  said,  slaves  were  more  humanely  treated  in  Kentucky  than 
in  any  other  place  in  the  Union.  While  they  remained  property 
he  was  unwilling  to  interfere  to  prevent  free  trade  in  them. 
"If  we  pass  this  bill,  what  will  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina, 

1T  Spirit  of  Seventy-Six,  January  31.  1828;  Western  Luminary,  January  23,  1828. 

11  Spirit  of  Seventy-Six,  February  7,  1828. 

»  Kentuckian.  December  11,  1828,  December  25,  1828. 

*•  These  articles  were  called  "Hints  on  Slavery."  The  first  appeared  in  the  Kentucky 
Reporter,  April  21,  and  the  last  June  9,  1830. 

11  Western  Luminary,  October  6,  1830,  ff.     This  series  consisted  of  five  letters. 

"  Western  Luminary,  September  30,  1830,  ff. 

11  Kentucky  Reporter,  August  4,  1830.  A  number  of  interrogatories  addressed  to  Mr. 
Breckinridge  were  published  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette,  June  4,  1830,  among  which  was  the 
following:  "Are  you  the  author  of  the  numbers  in  the  Reporter,  in  favor  of  emancipating 
the  slaves?"  See  also,  "Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  delivered  at  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
October  12,  1840,"  Pamphlet. 

"  Kentuckian,  January  8,  1830. 


Non-Importation  Law,  1833 — Efforts  to  Secure  Its  Repeal    93 

and  Georgia  say?  They  will  have  the  same  right  to  prohibit 
the  importation  into  their  states  of  our  hogs,  our  horses  and 
our  mules.  This  measure  will  open  the  door  to  that  of  restrict 
ive  legislation  and  the  precedent  will  be  a  bad  one."25  Mr. 
Hise  then  took  the  floor  in  defense  of  the  bill.  He  said:  "There 
is  a  loud  and  impressive  call  upon  every  member  of  this  body 
for  a  firm  and  unequivocal  expression  of  their  opinion  on  this 
subject."26  His  remarks  were  continued  at  considerable 
length;  he  enlarged  particularly  upon  the  evils  of  slavery  and 
endeavored  to  point  out  the  advantage  of  free  over  slave  labor 
and  to  draw  a  striking  contrast  between  the  present  condition 
in  the  free  states  and  that  in  those  where  slavery  existed.  He 
attributed  the  rapid  progress  of  the  non-slaveholding  states 
in  power  and  in  prosperity  to  the  absence  of  this  evil,  and  drew 
from  these  facts  an  argument  against  permitting  as  far  as 
practicable  the  increase  of  the  evil  in  Kentucky.27  Mr.  Elisha 
Smith,  of  Rockcastle  County,  spoke  at  length  against  the  bill. 
He  believed  it  a  departure  from  sound  policy  and  a  violation 
of  private  rights  as  well  as  a  violation  of  the  constitution.28 
When  the  bill  came  before  the  House  of  Representatives  it  was 
defeated  by  a  vote  of  48  to  48. 29 

In  Niles'  Weekly  Register  for  February  6,  1830,  we  find 
the  following  comment  on  the  situation  in  Kentucky:  "In  an 
animated  debate  on  a  bill  to  prevent  the  importation  of  slaves 
into  Kentucky,  we  are  glad  to  observe  much  soundness  of  prin 
ciple  and  freedom  in  expressing  it.  That  slavery  has  been 
highly  injurious  to  Kentucky,  is  undoubted;  and  that  measures 
will  be  taken  to  rid  the  state  of  its  slave  population,  so  far  as 
may  be  consistent  with  what  are  esteemed  the  rights  of  prop 
erty,  is  entirely  manifest  to  us.  The  first  step  towards  that  is 
an  absolute  prohibition  of  their  importation  from  other  states."30 

There  were  two  bills  before  the  legislature  of  Kentucky  in 
1831,  designed  to  afford  some  measure  of  relief  to  slaves.  One 
of  them  prohibited  jailors,  under  pain  of  being  removed  from 
office  and  fined  $50,  from  receiving  slaves  into  jail,  unless  they 
were  committed  by  due  process  of  law.  The  object  was  to  pre 
vent  slave  traders  from  using  the  county  jails  to  facilitate 
their  operations.  The  second  bill  prohibited  the  importation 

||  Kentuckian.  January  8,  1830. 

"  Ibid' 
«•  Ibid, 


*•  African  Repository,  Vol.  5.  p.  380. 
«  Niles1  Weekly  Register,  Vol. 


37,  p.  399. 


94     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

of  slaves  into  the  state  under  certain  stipulated  conditions. 3  J 
The  slave  bill,  as  the  Non-Importation  bill  was  termed,  passed 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  both  1831  and  1832,  but  was 
defeated  each  time  in  the  Senate  by  a  very  small  majority.32 
Finally  it  passed  both  houses  and  was  approved  February  24, 
1833.33  It  provided,  "That  each  and  every  person  or  persons 
who  shall  hereafter  impbrt  into  this  state  any  slave  or  slaves 
or  who  shall  sell  or  buy,  or  contract  for  the  sale  or  purchase 
for  a  longer  term  than  one  year  of  the  services  of  any  such 
slave  or  slaves,  knowing  the  same  to  have  been  imported  as 
aforesaid,  he,  she,  or  they,  so  offending,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  $600 
for  each  slave  so  imported,  sold,  or  bought,  or  whose  service 
has  been  so  contracted  for,  recoverable  by  indictment  by  a 
grand  jury  on  an  action  of  debt,  in  the  name  of  the  Common 
wealth  of  Kentucky,  in  any  circuit  of  the  county  where  the 
offender  or  offenders  may  be  found."34  These  provisions  were 
not  intended  to  prevent  immigrants  to  the  state  from  bringing 
slaves  with  them  for  their  own  use,  but  immigrants  were  re 
quired  to  make  oath  within  sixty  days  after  their  arrival  that 
they  had  no  intention  of  selling  such  slaves  as  they  had  brought 
with  them.  The  law  did  not  apply  to  residents  of  the  state 
"deriving  a  title  to  slaves  by  will,  descent,  distribution  or 
marriage  or  gift  in  consideration  of  marriage."35 

In  order  to  secure  the  efficient  administration  of  the  law, 
its  enforcement  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  county  attorneys, 
who  were  required  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would  faithfully 
prosecute  all  offenders  against  the  act  within  their  knowledge 
or  of  which  they  might  be  informed.  They  were  further  to 
receive  twenty  per  cent,  of  all  fines  upon  conviction.  The 
Justices  of  the  Peace  were  also  given  power  to  issue  warrants 

»  Lexington  Observer,  October  21.  1831;  Liberator,  February  S,  1831. 

In  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in  support  of  the  slave  bill,  May  Squire 
Turner  spoke  especially  of  the  inadaptability  of  Kentucky  to  slave  labor.  He  gave  a  great 
many  figures  to  substantiate  his  points  and  made  a  number  of  comparisons  between  the  free 
states  and  Kentucky.  His  speech  was  quoted  in  the  Lexington  Observer,  October  21,  1831. 
Elisha  Smith,  of  Rockcastle  County,  spoke  in  opposition  to  the  bill.  In  the  course  of  his  re 
marks  he  said  he  believed  that  the  bill  was  "unconstitutional,  calculated  to  disturb  the  re 
pose  of  the  slave;  to  excite  hopes  that  cannot  be  realized  in  some  sixty  or  eighty  years;  to 
rivet  and  to  draw  closer  the  fetters  that  now  bind  him,  and  to  lessen  the  price  of  your  pro 
ducts  and  to  uprip  and  derange  the  commercial  intercourse  of  this  State  with  her  sister  States." 
(Commentator,  December  13,  1831). 

"  Western  Luminary,  December  28,  1831;  Liberator,  December  10.  1831;  Shelbyville 
Examiner,  December  29,  1832. 

»«  The  bill  passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  56  to  32  and  the  Senate  by  23  to  12.  Among 
those  voting  for  the  measure  were  Owsley,  Clark,  Simpson,  Green,  Wooley,  Crittenden,  Thom 
son,  Marshall,  Guthrie,  Thornton,  Butler  and  Ewing.  See  "Speech  of  Robert  J.  Breckin- 
ridge  **  *,  Lexington,  October  12,  1840,"  pp.  16ff. 

"  Session  Acts  of  1835,  p.  258.     R.  H.  Collins:  "History  of  Kentucky,"  Vol.  1.  p.  37. 

»»  Session  Acts  of  1835,  p.  258. 


Non-Importation  Law,  1833 — Efforts  to  Secure  Its  Repeal    95 

for  violators  and  the  action  might  be  begun  any  time  within 
five  years  after  the  offense  was  committed.36 

This  law  was  passed  to  save  the  state  from  an  excessive 
slave  population  and  to  keep  open  the  way  for  emancipation 
at  some  future  day.  It  was  evident  by  1840  that  the  first 
of  these  objects  was  being  accomplished.  The  percentage  of 
slave  population  had  gradually  increased  until  1830,  when  it 
represented  twenty-four  percent,  of  the  total  population.  Follow 
ing  the  passage  of  the  Non- Importation  Law  of  1833  the  percen 
tage  remained  almost  stationary  and  by  1840  it  had  decreased 
slightly. 

The  strength  of  the  anti-slavery  forces  was  greatly  aug 
mented  in  1836  by  the  election  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  to  the  legis 
lature.  Though  only  twenty-six  years  of  age,  he  soon  assumed 
both  in  the  legislature  and  in  the  state  as  a  whole  that  leader 
ship  of  the  anti-slavery  workers  which  he  held  during  the  re 
mainder  of  the  slavery  period.  He  was  a  nephew  of  Henry 
Clay  and  a  son  of  General  Green  Clay  of  Madison  County. 
Although  a  member  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  slave  owning  fam 
ilies  in  Kentucky,  he  acquired  a  very  strong  anti-slavery  tend 
ency  during  his  college  days  at  Yale  College,  where  he  heard 
William  Lloyd  Garrison  and  other  anti-slavery  workers  speak. 
After  his  graduation  in  1832,  he  returned  to  Kentucky  and  en 
tered  the  legal  profession,  in  which  he  soon  attained  prominence. 
In  1835,  and  again  in  1837,  he  represented  Madison  County 
in  the  legislature.37  The  following  year  he  moved  his  resi 
dence  to  Lexington,  Fayette  County,  and  in  1840  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  legislature  on  the  Whig  ticket,  defeating  Howard 
Wickliffe,  the  son  of  Robert  Wickliffe,  the  leading  democratic 
politician  and  the  largest  slave-owner  in  the  state.38  His 
early  antagonism  to  slavery  was  clearly  expressed  in  1840, 
when  he  declared  slavery  to  be  "an  evil  morally,  economically, 
physically,  intellectually,  socially,  religiously,  politically — evil 
in  its  inception  and  in  its  duration."39 

No  sooner  had  the  Law  of  1833  been  passed  than  the  pro- 
slavery  element  launched  a  campaign  for  its  repeal  or  modi 
fication.  The  leadef  in  this  movement  after  1835  was  Robert 
Wickliffe.  The  question  of  the  repeal  of  the  law  came  before  the 
legislature  almost  annually  and  the  bill  frequently  passed  the 

••  Session  Acts  of  1835,  p.  258. 

"  "Memoirs  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  73. 

••  Ibid.,  p.  74. 

11  Cassius  M.  Clay:     "Review  of  the  Late  Canvass,"  p.  14. 


96     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

senate  but  was  regularly  defeated  in  the  house.40  In  the 
elections  of  1840  it  was  one  of  the  leading  issues  before  the 
people.  In  a  number  of  places  the  candidates  were  publicly 
asked  to  state  their  views  in  regard  to  the  measure.41  During 
1840  and  1841  a  long  and  bitter  newspaper  and  pamphlet  con 
troversy  was  waged,  largely  over  the  Non-Importation  Law 
of  1833,  in  which  the  leading  participants  were  Robert  Wick- 
liffe,  Thomas  Marshall,  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  and  Cassius 
M.  Clay,  the  last  three  defending  the  law.  In  one  of  the 
pamphlets  published  in  1840,  Wickliffe  urged  the  slave 
holders  of  the  South  to  hold  a  convention  for  the 
purpose  of  formulating  plans  for  the  better  protection 
of  their  slave  interests.42  In  this  he  maintained  that  the 
Non-Importation  Law  of  1833  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  system 
of  the  abolitionists,  which  had  for  its  main  object  the  severance 
of  Kentucky  from  the  southern  slave  states  by  diminishing 
the  number  of  slaves,  thus  increasing  the  proportion  of  non- 
slaveholders  and  free  laborers,  forcing  the  entire  slave  popu 
lation  upon  the  "Southern  Angle,"  and  finally  terminating 
slavery  there  "by  the  murder  of  the  whole  white  population."43 
This  calamity,  he  believed,  could  be  averted  only  by  an  ex 
pansion  of  the  slave  territory  and  by  "nipping  in  the  bud"  all 
anti-slavery  schemes. 

The  repeal  bill  came  up  annually44  before  the  legislature, 
until  1849,  when  a  bill  was  passed  repealing  the  most  important 
provisions  of  the  Non-Importation  Law  of  1833. 45  This  action 
was  taken  on  the  eve  of  an  election  of  delegates  to  a  constitu 
tional  convention,  an  election  in  which  gradual  emancipation 
was  one,  if  not  the  most  important  issue,  and  was  doubtless 
designed  to  counteract  the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  eman 
cipation.  The  Presbyterian  Herald  in  commenting  upon  the 
vote  said:  "We  do  not  know  how  far  this  action  of  the 
legislature  is  in  accordance  w^ith  the  popular  sentiment  of 
the  State  at  large.  At  this  point  we  hear  but  one  opinion 

«  The  Maysville  Eagle,  December  22,  1838.  In  this  year  the  bill  passed  the  Senate 
by  a  vote  of  20  to  14.  See  also  the  Philanthropist,  October  28,  1840;  Cassius  M.  Clay:  "Review 
of  the  Late  Canvass,  1840,"  Pamphlet.  It  was  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of  Clay  that  the 
law  was  not  repealed  at  this  time. 

41  The  Philanthropist,  October  28,  1840. 

«  Wickliffe:     "Reply  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  *  *  *,  1840,"  Pamphlet,  p.  45f. 

"  Ibid.,  pp.  45ff.  See  also  Thomas  Marshall:  "Letters  to  the  Editor  of  the  Common 
wealth,"  Pamphlet,  1840,  Vol.  2,  p.  22.  In  these  letters  he  attempts  to  prove  the  constitu 
tionality  of  the  law  which  had  been  contested  by  Wickliffe  and  others.  For  the  part  taken 
by  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  see  the  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1840  and  1841,  which  contain  a 
number  of  important  letters  on  this  subject. 

44  The  Liberator,  April  9.  1840,  February  12,  1841,  February  14,  1845,  January  16, 
1846,  February  11,  1848;  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  64.  p.  4;  Anti-Slavery  Bugle.  February 
18,  1848. 

«  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  75,  p.  113;  The  Liberator,  March  2,  1849. 


Non-Importation  Law,  1833 — Efforts  to  Secure  Its  Repeal    97 

expressed,  and  that  is  that  the  action  of  the  Legislature  in  the 
matter  is  uncalled  for  and  unpolitic."46 

The  effort  to  prevent  importation  was  one  of  the  hopeful 
measures  that  characterized  the  late  twenties  and  the  early 
thirties,  measures  designed  to  prevent  slavery  from  acquiring 
a  firmer  hold  on  the  state  and  to  facilitate,  in  that  way,  the 
work  of  gradual  emancipation.  The  effort  of  pro-slavery 
leaders  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  non-importation  act  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  sign  of  the  aggressive  program  to  which  they 
adhered  after  the  threat  of  the  Garrisonian  abolitionists  and  it 
illustrates  quite  aptly  the  place  which  in  the  forties  slavery 
had  come  to  occupy  in  the  political  and  social  life  of  the  state. 

"  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  February  22,  1849. 


GRADUAL  EMANCIPATION  AND  RADICAL 
ABOLITION 

1830-1840 


CHAPTER    VIII 


The  development  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  gradual  con 
stitutional  emancipation  following  the  constitutional  con 
vention  of  1799  has  been  traced  in  the  preceding  pages.  It 
has  been  seen  that  the  question  of  calling  a  convention  was 
an  issue  in  practically  every  legislature  and  that  the  party 
favoring  a  convention,  although  it  represented  a  minority, 
was  strong  enough  at  times  to  control  one  of  the  houses.  The 
result  was  a  constant  uneasiness  on  the  part  of  the  slaveholders 
lest  slavery  might  be  abolished  if  entrusted  to  a  representative 
constitutional  convention.1  Illustrative  of  this  was  a  circular 
addressed  to  the  freemen  of  Fayette  County,  in  1830,  by  the 
Hon.  Robert  Wickliffe,  in  which  he  bitterly  opposed  the  calling 
of  such  a  convention.  His  arguments  in  support  of  this  posi 
tion,  typical  pro-slavery  arguments,  were  based  largely  on  his 
fear  of  emancipation,  which  he  considered  inexpedient  unless 
it  could  be  made  effective  in  all  the  states  of  the  Union.  He 
maintained  that  the  attempt  to  emancipate  the  slaves  of  Ken 
tucky  would  not  succeed,  but  would  drive  the  slaveholders 
with  their  slaves  to  the  southern  states,  where  slavery  would 
continue  "for  centuries  yet  to  come."  He  considered  the 
consequences  of  such  a  migration  dangerous  "to  the  wealth  and 
the  capital  of  the  state"  and  spoke  especially  of  the  inhumanity 
of  such  a  move,  since  the  slaves  would  be  removed  "to  a  country 
where  their  slavery  would  be  more  intolerable  than  it  is  at 
present."  He  regarded  the  diffusion  of  slaves  over  extensive 
portions  of  the  nation  as  tending  more  to  the  final  emanci 
pation  of  the  race  than  the  gathering  of  them  in  large  masses. 
Furthermore,  he  expressed  his  wish  that  slavery  should  not  be 
perpetual,  and  he  firmly  believed  that  Providence  would  at 

'  There  is  a  "Bill  for  the  Emancipation  of  Slaves"  in  the  Draper  MSS.  (Boone  MSS.. 
Original  Doc.,  Vol.  27).  On  the  obverse  side  of  this  Bill  is  a  petition  signed  by  Robert  Todd. 
P.  Patterson,  David  Reid,  James  Crawford,  Andrew  McCalla,  William  Barber,  and  W.  Machean, 
which  pronounces  slavery  a  great  political  evil  and  moral  wrong.  The  Legislature  was  asked 
to  pass  certain  laws  that  were  designed  to  encourage  emancipation,  especially  of  the  future 
offspring  of  the  present  generation  of  slaves.  Neither  the  Bill  nor  the  petition  was  dated. 


Gradual  Emancipation  and  Radical  Abolition — 1830-1840      99 

the  proper  time  point  out  the  means  of  effecting  its  extinction. 
He  firmly  believed  that  the  calling  of  a  convention  would  re 
sult  in  emancipation  and  accordingly  warned  the  slaveholders 
throughout  the  state  "of  the  danger  to  the  tenure  by  which 
they  hold  their  slaves  which  would  result  from  a  convention." 
He  referred  to  the  yearly  returns  of  the  tax  commissioners  and 
endeavored  to  prove  that  less  than  one  voter  in  ten  was  a  slave 
holder.2  "In  this  state  of  the  polls,"  he  asked,  "what  chance 
can  the  slaveholder  have  to  retain  his  slaves,  if  by  a  new  con 
stitution  he  is  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  annual  legislature  of  the 
state?"  The  address  closed  with  the  warning  "that  while 
the  constitution  secures  the  rights  of  the  masters  to  their  slaves 
the  religious  societies,  that  abhor  the  principles  of  slavery, 
feel  themselves  restrained  to  be  silent  as  to  its  evils;  but  so 
soon  as  it  becomes  a  question  to  be  settled  in  a  new  constitu 
tion  all  such  feel  themselves  called  on  by  the  principles  of  their 
religion  to  act,  and  they  will  act,  as  their  conscience  dictates."3 
Robert  Wickliffe  represented  the  radical  element  in  the 
pro-slavery  party,  but  his  fears  of  those  who  favored  gradual 
emancipation  were  shared  by  many.  Millions  of  dollars  had 
been  invested  by  the  citizens  of  the  state  in  slave  property 
and  many  of  those  who  were  interested  in  slavery,  although 
they  did  not  always  regard  slave  labor  as  economical,  did  not 
wish  to  see  the  power  to  emancipate  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  legislature,  since  the  legislature  might  at  any  time  pass 
under  the  control  of  a  radical  anti-slavery  party  that  would 
summarily  abolish  the  institution  and  without  compensation. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  slaveholders  who  actively 
co-operated  with  the  anti-slavery  party,  because  they  believed 
that  slavery  was  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  state. 
Yet  they  neither  desired  nor  anticipated  radical  action  on  the 
subject. 

1  This  seems  to  be  a  fair  estimate  of  the  slaveholding  population  of  Kentucky.  Cassius 
M.  Clay  in  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Kentucky  in  1841,  said  that  nine-tenths 
of  the  free  white  population  of  the  state  were  non-slaveholders  or  working  men.  "Speech  of 
Cassius  M.  Clay  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Kentucky  in  January,  1841,  upon  a  Bill 
to  Repeal  the  Non-importation  Law  of  1833,"  Pamphlet,  p.  4. 

.  'Kentucky  Reporter,  February  17,  1830.  It  was  also  published  in  pamphlet  form 
and  in  the  Western  Luminary  (May  26,  1830),  and  in  other  Kentucky  papers.  The  following 
observation  of  the  anti-slavery  prospects  in  Kentucky  was  made  by  Benjamin  Lundy  in  the  Gen 
ius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  April  1,  1830,  p.  3:  "In  addition  to  the  evidence,  so  conclusive 
that  the  good  cause  is  there  fast  gaining  ground,  it  will  be  recollected  that  the  Legislature 
ecently  had  under  consideration  a  resolution  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  when 
the  advocates  of  that  measure  vowed  that  their  ultimate  object  was  the  eradication  of 
slavery  from  their  soil.  A  letter  from  a  gentleman  of  high  standing,  in  Lexington,  to  the 
Hon.  Charles  Miner,  of  Pennsylvania,  states  that  this  was  the  principal  inducement  with 
many  to  support  the  proposition;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  resolution  was  negatived 
by  a  majority  of  one  vote  only." 


100     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

While  many  slaveholders  advocated  the  calling  of  a  con 
stitutional  convention  for  the  purpose  of  providing  some  means 
for  the  gradual  extinction  of  slavery  in  the  state,  a  considerable 
number  of  anti-slavery  workers,  among  them  Robert  J.  Breck- 
inridge,  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  legislature,  opposed  the 
convention  bill  on  the  ground  that  under  the  existing  con 
stitution  slavery  might  be  terminated  in  perfect  accordance 
with  its  spirit  and  provisions.  This  point  of  view  was  ad 
vanced  by  Mr.  Breckinridge  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  numbers 
of  his  "Hints  on  Slavery/'  in  answer  to  the  pamphlet  by 
R.  Wickliffe  quoted  above.4  He  maintained  that  the  consti 
tution  expressly  recognized  two  methods  of  emancipation: 
first,  by  consent  of  the  owners,  and  second,  by  compen 
sation  on  the  part  of  the  state.  He  maintained  also  that  by 
a  system  of  moderate  and  sustained  police  regulations  emanci 
pation  might  be  ultimately  accomplished  without  infringing 
the  title  of  the  owner  more  than  had  been  done  by  multitudes 
of  laws  on  other  subjects.5  He  adduced  the  following  con 
stitutional  argument  concerning  the  post  nati  which  he  main 
tained  was  intentionally  ingrafted  into  the  constitution  by 
the  framers  of  that  document.6  The  constitution  compre 
hends  under  the  single  word  "slaves,"  the  total  interest  of  the 
owner  protected  by  it;  and  allows  his  total  interest,  whatever 
it  may  be,  to  be  taken  and  paid  for  by  the  state.  Now,  if 
the  possibility  that  a  female  will  have  children  is  such  an  in 
terest  that  it  vests  in  the  master,  then  it  is  such  an  interest 
as  by  the  force  of  the  terms  the  state  can  pay  for  and  con 
trol.  If  it  is  not  such  an  interest,  then  there  is  no  question 
that  the  state  can  control  it  without  pay.  Thus,  either  way, 
the  power  of  the  state  over  the  post  nati  is  complete ;  according 
to  one  construction  with  compensation,  according  to  the  other, 


4  Breckinridge  Papers,  for  1830,  contain  the  original  copy.  See  also  Kentucky  Re 
porter,  May  12,  19,  1830.  Breckinridge's  "Hints  on  Slavery"  is  one  of  the  most  important 
anti-slavery  documents  in  the  history  of  Kentucky.  They  were  copied  into  many  of  the 
Kentucky  papers  and  received  state-wide  attention.  Among  other  things  he  says:  "Two 
out  of  every  seven  of  her  population  are  estimated  to  be  slaves.  One  out  of  every  thirteen 
of  her  white  population  is  estimated  to  be  a  slave  owner.  It  may  be  conjectured  that  one  in 
every  two  among  slaveholders  are  favorable  to  the  principle  of  gradual  abolition.  Twelve 
out  of  every  thirteen  own  no  slaves,  and  are  therefore,  in  every  way,  interested  in  getting  rid 
of  them.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  not  more  than  one  in  every  twenty-six  whites,  upon  a 
fair  presentation  of  the  subject,  could  upon  any  reasonable  calculation,  be  supposed  favorable 
to  the  perpetuity  of  negro  slavery  in  the  state."  He  then  attempted  to  prove  that  slavery 
was  decidedly  against  the  true  interests  of  the  state.  While  he  expressed  confidence  in 
colonization  he  maintained  that  the  real  object  was  to  secure  the  freedom  of  the  slaves.  This 
he  believed  should  be  preceded  by  an  absolute  prohibition  of  all  importations  of  slaves  into 
the  state.  Furthermore,  he  stated  that  the  state  had  a  right  to  and  should  at  once  levy  a 
tax  on  all  slaves  within  the  state,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  removal  of 
the  freed  slaves  to  Africa. 

'  "Hints  on  Slavery,"  Kentucky  Reporter,  May  12,  19,  1830.  Also  Breckinridge  Papers 
(1830). 

•  See  supra,  pp.  31,  32. 


Gradual  Emancipation  and  Radical  Abolition— 183^-1840     101 

without  it.7  In  the  summary  closing  his  constitutional  argu 
ment  he  said:  "I  cannot  doubt,  then,  that  I  am  authorized 
to  give  the  following  interpretation  to  the  debated  clause  of 
the  constitution,  as  embracing  its  plain  meaning  and  fulfilling 
its  intent: 

"1.  The  General  Assembly  (of  Kentucky)  can  never 
emancipate  any  slaves  gradually,  contingent  or  in  any  way 
whatever;  except,  first,  with  their  owners'  consent,  or  secondly, 
after  having  previously  paid  for  them. 

«2  *  *  * 

"3.  The  General  Assembly  has  full  power,  before  the 
birth  of  those  persons  who  by  our  Constitution  and  laws,  are 
allowed  to  be  held  in  slavery — so  to  modify  existing  laws,  as  to 
allow  them  to  remain  as  they  are  born — free. 

"4.  It  follows  that  the  General  Assembly  has  full  power, 
so  to  modify  existing  laws,  as  to  allow  the  condition  of  slavery 
to  attach  at  birth  to  those  who  can  be  slaves,  only  in  a  quali 
fied  or  limited  manner;  that  is,  to  provide  for  the  gradual  pro 
spective  emancipation  of  the  descendants  of  female  slaves."8 

These  articles,  in  addition  to  appearing  in  pamphlet  form, 
were  printed  in  a  number  of  the  leading  papers  of  the  state. 
They  attracted  wide  attention  and  provoked  much  discussion. 
They  were  written  to  prove  that,  although  the  legislature  had 
no  power  to  liberate  slaves  without  the  consent  of  their  owners, 
or  without  first  paying  for  them,  yet  it  had  the  power  to  provide 
for  emancipation  of  descendants  of  female  slaves.  The  sec 
ondary  object  was  to  prevent  the  call  of  a  convention,  by  show 
ing  that  it  was  not  necessary  insofar  as  the  subject  of  eman 
cipation  was  concerned . 9 


»  "Hints  on  Slavery,"  Breckinridge  Papers;  Kentucky  Reporter,  May  12,  19,  1830. 

•  Ibid.,  May  19,  1830. 

"The  power  to  liberate  persons  in  slavery  being  restricted  in  part,  cannot  be  exercised 
in  the  excepted  cases.  The  power  to  enforce  and  confirm  the  laws  of  nature,  anterior  to  the 
birth  of  the  children  of  slaves  is  not  restricted,  but  remains  complete  under  the  general  grant.*  *  * 
If  it  had  been  the  intention  of  the  Convention  to  put  an  absolute,  instead  of  a  limited  restraint 
on  the  power  of  the  Legislature  to  prevent  forever  the  extinguishment  of  slavery,  instead  of 
guarding  the  interests  of  owners  to  a  certain  extent,  a  very  different  phraseology  would  naturally 
have  suggested  itself,  and  must  have  been  used,  'The  General  Assembly  shall  have  no  power 
to  pass  laws  for  the  extinguishment  of  slavery.'  This  was  followed  by  a  long  discussion  of 
gradual  emancipation.  The  article  ended  with  this  significant  statement:  "Domestic  slavery 
cannot  exist  forever;  it  cannot  exist  long  in  any  condition  of  society  or  under  any  form  of  gov 
ernment,  quiet  and  unbroken.  It  may  terminate  in  various  ways — but  terminate  it  must." 
(Breckinridge  Papers,  Original  copy.)  This  same  idea  was  expressed  in  the  "Speech  of  Robert  J. 
Breckinridge***,  October  12,  1840,"  Pamphlet. 

9  Robert  Wickliffe,  a  personal  and  political  enemy  of  R.  J.  Breckinridge,  in  commenting 
a  few  years  later  on  the  influence  of  Breckinridge:  "Hints  on  Slavery,"  said:  "That  those  articles 
excited  in  the  slaves  of  the  county  and  city  a  spirit  of  insubordination  that  filled  the  county 
of  Fayette  with  murder,  arson  and  rapes  to  such  a  degree  that,  in  one  year,  there  were  about 
fifteen  committals  of  slaves  for  capital  offenses,  and  many  executions  of  them,  when  there  had  not 
been  one  case  of  an  execution  of  a  slave  for  fifteen  years  before  they  commenced  their  opera 
tions  in  favor  of  abolition."  ("Reply  of  Robert  Wickliffe  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  1841." 
Pamphlet,  p.  20f.) 


102     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

The  sentiment  in  favor  of  gradual  constitutional  eman 
cipation  seemed  to  be  gaining  strength  rapidly  during  the 
early  thirties.  The  passage  of  the  Non-Importation  Law  of 
1833  is  an  evidence  of  that  fact.10  This  victory  only  tended 
to  encourage  the  anti-slavery  party  to  greater  efforts  and  led 
them  to  believe  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  the  submission  of  a 
plan  of  gradual  emancipation  to  the  people.  In  1833  James 
G.  Birney  regarded  Kentucky  "as  the  best  site  in  our  whole 
country  for  taking  a  stand  against  slavery."11  In  a  let 
ter  to  Lewis  Tappan,  February  third,  of  the  same  year 
he  said:  "I  returned  a  few  days  since  from  Frankfort.  I 
heard  whilst  there  most  of  the  debates  on  the  convention  bill 
into  which  the  subject  of  slavery  and  emancipation  always 
entered.  I  conversed  on  the  subject  with  many  of  the  members 
of  the  legislature  as  well  as  with  many  other  intelligent  gentle 
men  from  the  different  parts  of  the  state.  The  conclusion 
to  which  my  mind  has  been  brought  is  this — that  emancipation 
in  some  form  or  another  occupies  the  minds  of  the  community, 
and  that  the  feeling  in  favor  of  it  is  growing.  :  I  am  not 

without  hope  that  the  subject  of  emancipation  will  be  taken  up 
in  many  parts  of  the  state  by  the  candidates  for  the  next  Gen 
eral  Assembly  of  the  state.  Should  this  be  so  I  can  enter 
tain  no  doubt,  that  the  result  will  be  a  termination  of  slavery 
in  some  way  or  another." 1 2 

In  a  speech  in  the  legislature  of  Kentucky  in  1835  in  sup 
port  of  the  convention  bill  and  a  gradual  emancipation  clause 
in  the  new  constitution,  J.  M.  Helm  said  in  this  connection: 
"The  spirit  of  emancipation  is  abroad  in  the  land,  and  you 
had  as  well  try  to  resist  electricity  or  control  the  lightnings 
of  heaven  as  to  attempt  to  check  its  onward  march. 
Let  us  now  meet  the  question  and  have  some  constitutional 
assurance  how  long  we  may  be  expected  to  be  permitted  to 
hold  them  (slaves).  *  *  *  Let  the  coming  generation  have 
an  opportunity  of  arranging  their  fortunes  at  once. 
What  disposition  shall  be  made  of  our  slave  population  is  a 
question  of  grave  consideration,  and  I  will  not  now  hazard  an 
opinion  upon  the  subject.  But  this  much  I  will  say,  if  that 
population  is  to  be  perpetually  urged  as  an  argument  against 
altering,  reforming,  or  abolishing  our  government,  when  experi 
ence  shall  point  out  its  necessity,  our  country  is  doubly  en- 

19  See  supra,  p.  94. 

11  Birney:     "James  G.  Birney  and  His  Times,"  p.  131. 

»  Liberator,  April  4,  1835. 


Gradual  Emancipation  and  Radical  Abolition — 1830-1840     103 

slaved;  our  slaves  are  slaves  to  us,  and  we  are,  because  of 
them,  slaves  to  our  laws."13 

By  1835  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  emancipation  had  become 
so  strong  and  so  persistent  that  many  slaveholders  who  were 
opposed  to  emancipation  now  supported  the  convention  bill 
in  order  to  bring  about  a  permanent  settlement  of  the  question 
one  way  or  the  other.  Some  slaveholders,  opposed  to  eman 
cipation,  regarded  the  time  as  opportune  for  testing  the  strength 
of  the  anti-slavery  party  since  hundreds  of  moderate  eman 
cipationists  had  withdrawn  their  support  either  temporarily 
or  permanently  as  a  result  of  the  activities  of  the  radical  aboli 
tionists.  x  4  There  were  also  other  issues  involved  in  the  calling 
of  a  convention  that  commanded  a  considerable  following  and 
for  a  combination  of  reasons  the  legislature  in  1837,  by  a  vote 
of  20  to  16  in  the  Senate  and  of  57  to  42  in  the  House,  passed 
the  convention  bill. 1 5 

The  constitution  of  Kentucky  provided  that  when  a 
majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  House  of  the  General 
Assembly  should  concur  in  passing  a  law,  "specifying  the  altera 
tions  intended  to  be  made,  for  taking  the  sense  of  the  good 
people  of  this  State  as  to  the  necessity  and  expediency  of  calling 
a  convention"  elections  were  to  be  held,  and  if  a  majority  of  the 
citizens  entitled  to  vote  for  representatives  voted  for  the  con 
vention,  the  General  Assembly  was  to  direct  that  a  "similar 
poll  shall  be  opened  and  taken"  at  the  general  election  the 
following  year;  and  if  a  majority  of  the  citizens  entitled  to  vote 
for  representatives  again  voted  for  the  convention,  the  General 
Assembly,  at  its  next  session,  was  to  issue  a  call  for  and  order 
the  election  of  delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention.  But 
if  by  the  vote  of  either  year  such  a  majority  was  not  secured 
the  convention  was  not  to  be  called.16  Thus  the  bill  having 
passed  the  legislature  in  1837  the  first  election  was  ordered 
for  the  fall  of  1838. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  campaign  for  the  gradual 
constitutional  emancipation  was  only  begun  by  the  passage 
of  the  legislative  act  of  1837.  To  accomplish  the  desired  end 
it  would  be  necessary  for  the  friends  of  emancipation  to  com- 
mand  a  majority  of  the  votes  in  the  elections  of  1838  and  1839, 

11  Liberator,  March  7,  1835,  quoted  from  the  Lexington  Intelligencer. 

14  A  correspondent  in  the  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  for  November  30,  1837,  speaks 
disparagingly  of  the  tendency  among  the  friends  of  emancipation  to  cease  temporarily  their 
efforts  in  its  behalf  as  a  result  of  the  northern  abolitionist  propaganda.  Such  action,  he  de 
clared,  could  not  be  justified  at  such  a  crisis  by  the  errors  of  abolitionists. 

»  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  January  4,  1838. 

»•  House  Documents,  59th  Congress,  2d  Session,  Vol.  89,  p.  1288. 


104     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

and  also  to  secure  the  election  of  a  majority  of  the  delegates 
to  the  convention  in  1840  to  support  their  cause.  This,  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances,  would  be  a  most  difficult 
undertaking,  especially  since,  as  we  have  seen,  the  action  of 
the  legislature  in  referring  the  question  of  a  convention  to 
the  people  was  not  due  wholly  to  the  efforts  of  the  anti-slavery 
men.17 

The  Lexington  Observer,  which  consistently  opposed  the 
convention  bill,  made  the  following  comment  on  the  situation 
in  regard  to  slavery:  "For  a  time  we  must  expect  this  subject 
to  control  all  others.  The  state  of  Kentucky  is  to  be  the 
theatre  upon  which  a  great  battle  is  to  be  fought.  It  is  useless 
to  disguise  the  question.  *  N  All  other  imputed  defects  in  the 
Constitution  are  mere  playthings — we  have  not  heard  one  pointed 
out  which  would  justify  this  extreme  resolve.  It  is  time  that 
the  people  of  this  state  should  know  what  their  future  destiny 
is  to  be.  If  a  majority  should  be  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  better 
to  extirpate  slavery,  it  is  time  it  should  be  known.  There  is 
a  restlessness  in  the  public  mind,  which  should  be  allayed, 
by  full,  free,  and  manly  discussion.  Let  us  discuss  it  in  the 
right  spirit.  *  :  We  make  war  on  no  man  for  his  opinion — some 
of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  Kentucky  are  of  the  opinion 
that  slavery  is  a  great  moral  and  political  curse."18 

The  anti-slavery  activity  in  Kentucky  between  1830  and 
1840  was  viewed  by  the  entire  country  with  a  great  deal  of  in 
terest.  The  final  decision  of  the  state  upon  the  question  of 
whether  or  not  slavery  should  be  permitted  to  remain  touched 
vital  interests  in  both  the  North  and  the  South.  It  was  fre 
quently  asked:  Should  Kentucky  abolish  slavery,  would  the 
other  border  states,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Maryland,  and  Vir 
ginia,  follow?  Should  any  one  or  all  of  these  states  voluntarily 
take  such  action,  would  it  be  possible  to  restore  the  balance 
of  power  in  the  national  government  between  the  North 
and  the  South  as  established  by  the  Missouri  Compromise  in 
1820,  and  if  not  would  it  result  in  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in 
the  entire  South? 

An  indication  of  the  opinion  of  the  South  is  given  in  an  edi 
torial  in  a  North  Carolina  newspaper  in  1837:  "The  legislature 
of  Kentucky  has  passed  a  bill  to  take  the  sense  of  the  people  on 

17  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  for  June  4,  1838,  in  reviewing  this  Act,  said:     "Slavery 
was  one  issue  although  the  anti-slavery  element  did  not  control  the  legislature.     Many  de 
sired  to  find  out  the  will  of  the  people  on  that  and  other  questions." 

18  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  January,  1838,  quoted  from  the  Lexington  Ob 
server.     This  article  was  also  copied  in  the  Emancipator,  January  25,  1838. 


Gradual  Emancipation  and  Radical  Abolition — 1830-1840     105 

the  propriety  of  calling  a  Convention,  the  primary  object  of 
which  is  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  that  State.  Such  a  move 
ment,  in  a  juncture  like  the  present,  is  to  be  especially  regretted. 
Its  effects  will  not  be  confined  to  the  State  of  Kentucky,  but 
will  have  a  weighty  and  important  bearing  upon  the  interest  of 
all  the  slave  States.  Those  in  Kentucky  who  desire  the  contin 
uation  and  the  glory  of  this  Union,  and  who  participated  in 
effecting  this  movement,  have  given  by  it  but  an  ill-judged  and 
an  impolitic  earnest  of  that  desire.  And  the  Abolitionists  of  the 
North  and  of  that  State  are  now  doubly  exulting  at  a  prospect 
so  favorable  to  the  final  accomplishment  of  their  designs.  Is  it 
not  time  that  the  South  were  awake,  and  moving,  by  States,  to 
the  common  principle,  that  slavery  shall  not  be  abolished?"19 
The  Richmond  Whig  in  commenting  upon  the  coming  Ken 
tucky  election  said:  "It  assumes  a  consequence  and  importance 
surpassing  that  of  any  subject  ever  agitated  in  Kentucky.  But 
the  interest  in  the  event  will  not  be  confined  to  the  citizens  of 
that  state.  *  *  *  Every  portion  of  the  Confederacy,  and  the  slave- 
holding  region  especially,  will  look  with  intense  interest  to  the 
decision  of  the  question."20  The  Savannah  Georgian  about 
the  same  time  urged  the  South  to  oppose  the  candidacy  of  Henry 
Clay  for  the  presidency  because  he  came  from  "a  state  where 
public  opinion  is  undergoing  a  change  upon  the  subject  of  slav 
ery.  When  it  is  ascertained  that  hemp  can  be  grown  at  less  ex 
pense  with  white  than  with  slave  labor,  that  state  will  go  further 
against  the  institution  than  any  other,  on  the  same  principle 
that  one  renegade  is  worse  than  ten  Turks."21 

The  Emancipator,  the  official  organ  of  the  American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  was  very  optimistic  over  the  prospects  of  suc 
cess  in  the  Kentucky  struggle.22  It  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  state,  as  a  result  of  her  contiguity 
to  a  number  of  slave  states,  might  virtually  abolish  the  institu 
tion  in  the  whole  South.23  By  April,  1838,  it  seemed  to  regard 
the  struggle  as  won  by  the  anti-slavery  forces  when  it  made  the 
following  comment:  "In  spite  of  all  the  machinations  of  inter 
ested  politicians,  Kentucky  has  virtually  withdrawn  from  the 

11  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  January,  1838,  quoted.  The  name  of  the  North 
Carolina  paper  is  not  given.  Benjamin  Lundy  made  the  following  comment  on  this  article: 
"The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  doctrine  which  the  Southern  slaveholders  have  hereto 
fore  preached,  is,  non-interference  with  regulations  of  other  States.  But  now  we  have  a 
different  language  from  them.  We  hope  and  trust,  however,  that  the  people  of  Kentucky 
will  properly  attend  to  their  own  concerns,  whatever  the  besotted  tyrants  in  the  Carolina* 
may  think  or  say  of  them." 

90  Emancipator,  February  15,  1838,  quoted. 

11  Emancipator,  October  4,  1838,  quoted  from  the  Savannah  Georgian,  August  26,  1838 . 

"  Emancipator,  February  15,  June  14,  1838. 

"  Ibid.,  February  15,  1838. 


106     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

confederacy  of  oppressors.  The  struggle  may  yet  be  severe. 
Slavery  will  die  game,  but  it  must  die.  Kentucky  is  now  the 
battleground  of  abolition."24  The  expression,  "Kentucky  is 
now  the  battleground  of  abolition,"  was  repeatedly  used  from 
this  time  on  by  the  Emancipator  and  other  anti -slavery  papers, 
and  was  taken  up  by  the  pro-slavery  newspapers  and  politicians 
of  Kentucky  and  held  before  the  public  as  an  evidence  of  the  un 
due  interference  of  the  North  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  state. 

William  Lloyd  Garrison,  the  editor  of  the  Liberator,  expressed 
considerable  confidence  in  the  outcome  of  the  election  in  Ken 
tucky,  although  he  was  not  so  sanguine  as  the  editor  of  the  Eman 
cipator.  2  5 

Numerous  pamphlets  and  anti-slavery  papers  were  sent  into 
Kentucky  by  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  and  similar  so 
cieties  and  by  various  anti-slavery  newspapers  of  the  free  states. 2  6 
Efforts  were  made  in  a  number  of  towns  to  exclude  this  material 
from  the  mails.  Mr.  J.  J.  Ficklin,  the  postmaster  at  Lexington, 
refused  to  deliver  such  documents  to  the  people  of  that  place. 
He  informed  the  editor  of  the  Emancipator  that  the  numerous 
abolition  pamphlets  and  papers  sent  to  the  citizens  of  that  vicin 
ity  were  not  reaching  their  destination  and  requested  that  he 
stop  sending  them.  He  said  that  there  were  no  immediate  abo 
litionists  in  Kentucky  and  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  any. 2  7 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  asserted  by  the  Commonwealth, 
one  of  the  leading  Kentucky  newspapers,  that  the  Kentucky  con 
vention  was  making  more  "noise  beyond  the  borders  of  the  state 
than  it  was  at  home,*  *  *  where  it  was  attracting  no  great  amount 
of  attention."  2  8  It  reviewed  at  length  the  attempt  of  the  north 
ern  abolitionists  to  make  Kentucky  the  "battleground  of  abo 
lition."  The  editor  spoke  especially  of  the  Emancipator,  a  copy 
of  which  had  recently  come  into  his  hands.  This  number  he  de 
clared  showed  a  keen  observation  of  passing  events  in  the  state 
legislature.  It  contained  a  careful  and  accurate  synopsis 
of  the  progress  and  the  passage  of  the  convention  bill  as  well  as 
a  number  of  the  speeches  in  the  legislature.  The  Emancipator 

"  Emancipator,  April  5,  April  19,  June  14,  1838. 

»  Liberator,  August  31,  1838. 

»«  Emancipator,  February  15,  1838,  June  14,  1838.  In  1838  there  were  1,346  abolition 
societies,  with  112,480  members  in  the  free  states.  During  the  year  the  central  office  in 
New  York  City  issued  646,000  copies  of  anti-slavery  publications.  More  than  100  abolition 
papers  were  being  published  in  various  parts  of  the  northern  states. 

«  Emancipator,  April  19,  1838;  Commonwealth,  April  18,  1838. 

58  Commonwealth,  March  28,  1838.  "The  abolitionists  contend  that  it  (the  Con 
vention)  was  forced  through  the  legislature  by  the  strength  of  abolitionism — while  the  Globe 
in  large  capitals  heralds  it  as  being  the  combined  product  of  Federalism,  United  States 
Bankism  and  Abolitionism."  The  Commonwealth  assigned  the  call  for  the  convention  to 
a  number  of  causes,  one  of  which  was  slavery. 


Gradual  Emancipation  and  Radical  Abolition — 1830-1840     107 

was  described  as  being  conducted  with  "singular  ability"  and  as 
"better  calculated  to  work  ruin  to  the  South  than  all  the  rest  of 
the  machinery  put  together."  The  people  were  warned  against 
the  "designs  of  that  growing  and  dangerous  faction,"  the  aboli 
tionists  of  the  North.  Any  yielding  on  the  part  of  any  of  the 
slaveholding  states  would  throw  a  preponderating  power  into 
the  scale  of  the  abolitionists  and  serve  to  increase  their  deter 
mination,  already  too  strongly  marked.29 

The  Hon.  James  T.  Morehead,  for  many  years  an  outspok 
en  opponent  of  slavery  in  the  state  and  an  ardent  advocate  of 
colonization,  in  a  speech  in  the  legislature  of  Kentucky  on  the 
convention  bill,  gave  the  following  reasons,  which  are  typical  of 
addresses  on  the  subject,  for  opposing  the  calling  of  a  convention 
or  for  the  constitutional  abolition  of  slavery:  "Any  man  who  de 
sires  to  see  slavery  abolished — any  friend  of  emancipation,  grad 
ual  or  immediate — who  supposes  for  a  moment  that  now  is  the 
time  to  carry  out  this  favorite  policy,  must  be  blind  to  the  prog 
nostics  that  lower  from  every  quarter  of  the  political  sky.  Sir, 
the  present  is  not  the  period  to  unmanacle  the  slave  in  this  or 
any  other  state  of  the  Union.  Four  years  ago  you  might  have 
had  some  hope.  But  the  wild  spirit  of  fanaticism  has  done 
much  to  retard  the  work  of  emancipation  and  to  rivet  the  fetters 
of  slavery  in  Kentucky.*  *  *  The  advocates  of  abolition — thephren- 
zied  fanatics  of  the  North,  neither  sleep  nor  slumber.  Their 
footsteps  are  even  now  to  be  seen  wherever  mischief  can  be  per 
petrated — and  it  may  be  that  while  the  people  of  Kentucky  are 
reposing  in  the  confidence  of  fancied  security,  the  tocsin  of  re 
bellion  may  resound  through  the  land — the  firebrand  of  the  in 
cendiary  may  wrap  their  dwellings  in  flames — their  towns  and 
cities  may  become  heaps  of  ashes  before  their  eyes  and  their 
minds  drawn  off  from  all  thoughts  of  reforming  the  government 
to  consider  the  means  necessary  for  their  self-preservation — the 
protection  of  their  families  and  all  that  is  dear  to  men."3 ° 

Even  Henry  Clay,  who  had  not  taken  a  decided  stand  re 
garding  emancipation  in  Kentucky  since  1799,  wrote  to  his 
friends  advising  them  to  oppose  the  call  for  a  convention  and  to 
oppose  emancipation.  This  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the 

«  Commonwealth,  April  18,  1838.  This  paper,  though  pro-slavery,  was  by  no  means 
radical.  Articles  advocating  gradual  emancipation  frequently  appeared  in  it.  In  the  above 
number,  the  Hon.  John  J.  Helm,  a  member  of  the  legislature,  published  a  circular  letter 
addressed  to  his  constituents  in  vindication  of  his  vote  for  the  convention  bill.  A  plan  of 
gradual  emancipation  and  colonization  was  recommended  to  them  for  their  consideration. 
July  18,  1838,  in  a  long  article  signed  "C,"  a  plan  of  emancipation,  copied  after  that  formerly 
adopted  by  New  York,  was  advocated.  Both  Mr.  Helm  and  correspondent  "C"  bitterly 
assailed  abolitionism. 

«•  Commonwealth,  April  4,  1838;  Maysville  Eagle,  April  11,  1838. 


108     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

opponents  of  slavery  and  a  decisive  blow  to  the  emancipation 
cause  in  the  state.  Because  of  his  ardent  advocacy  of  coloniza 
tion  and  his  repeatedly  expressed  belief  that  the  institution  of 
slavery  was  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  state,  it  had 
been  expected  that  once  the  question  had  been  submitted  to  the 
people  he  would  add  his  powerful  influence  to  the  cause.  Clay 
justified  his  action  in  opposing  the  convention  bill  upon  the 
ground  of  expediency.  He  made  no  attempt  to  defend  or  ex 
cuse  slavery  on  moral  or  economic  grounds,  but  his  hatred  and 
fear  of  abolitionists  and  abolitionism  was  intense. 3  1 

By  the  spring  of  1838  the  discussions  of  the  advisability  of 
calling  a  convention  and  of  gradual  constitutional  emancipation 
were  rapidly  degenerating  into  a  denunciation  of  abolitionism 
in  which  the  friends  and  the  foes  of  slavery  took  an  equal  part. 3  2 
Scarcely  an  article  appeared  in  the  newspapers,  scarcely  a  speech 
was  delivered  on  either  side  of  the  question  that  abolition  and 
abolitionists  were  not  bitterly  assailed.  Many  of  the  leading 
advocates  of  a  convention  now  turned  against  it  because  in  view 
of  the  interference  of  northern  abolitionists  in  the  affairs  of  the 
state  the  holding  of  a  convention  that  might  affect  the  constitu 
tional  status  of  slavery  was  thought  undesirable.  The  northern 
abolitionists  were  ignorantly  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  radi 
cal  pro-slavery  leaders  and  were  enabling  them  to  associate  aboli 
tion,  regarded  by  all  classes  as  a  dangerous  menace  to  southern 
society,  with  the  constitutional  convention  and  perhaps  gradual 
emancipation,  and  thus  to  defeat  the  measure.  Opposition  to 
modern  abolitionism  then  as  in  later  years  became  a  popular 
policy  regardless  of  the  excuse  for  it  or  the  issue  involved. 

When  the  question  of  calling  a  convention  came  before  the 
people  in  the  election  during  the  fall  of  1838  the  supporters  of 
the  convention  were  defeated  by  a  large  majority.33  Various 
causes  contributed  to  this  result  and  one  of  the  most  important 
was,  doubtless, the  suspicion  and  fear  aroused  by  the  growth  and 

"  Annals  of  Congress.  1839,  Vol.  7,  p.  354.     Speech  on  Abolition  Petitions,  February  7. 

"  In  1836,  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  at  that  time  an  advocate  of  gradual  emancipation, 
spoke  of  abolitionists  as  the  "most  despicable  and  odious  men  on  the  face  of  the  earth."  He 
said  further  that  there  were  not  more  than  ten  men  in  the  whole  State  holding  their  views. 
George  Thompson:  "Discussion  of  American  Slavery  Between  George  Thompson  and  Rob 
ert  J.  Breckinridge,"  p.  40. 

In  a  speech  before  the  Colonization  Society  of  Kentucky,  in  1830,  Henry  Clay  said: 
"When  we  consider  the  cruelty  of  the  origin  of  negro  slavery,  its  nature,  the  character  of  the 
free  institutions  of  the  whites,  and  the  irresistible  progress  of  the  public  opinion,  through 
America  as  well  as  Europe,  it  is  impossible  not  to  anticipate  frequent  insurrections  among 
the  blacks  in  the  United  States.*  *  *  By  the  very  condition  of  the  relation  which  subsists  be 
tween  us  we  are  enemies  of  each  other."  (African  Repository,  Vol.  6,  p.  11.) 

»»  Henry  Clay  estimated  this  majority  at  four  to  one.  Annals  of  Congress,  1839,  Vol. 
7,  p.  358. 


Gradual  Emancipation  and  Radical  Abolition — 1830-1840     109 

activity  of  the  northern  abolitionists.  Henry  Clay  said,  in  ex 
planation  of  the  defeat  of  the  convention,  that  the  anti-slavery 
majority  in  the  state  had  gradually  increased  from  1799  and  was 
increasing  "until  the  abolitionists  commenced  their  operations. 
The  effect  has  been  to  dissipate  all  prospects  whatever,  for  the 
present,  of  any  scheme  of  gradual  or  other  emancipation.  The 
people  have  been  shocked  and  alarmed  by  these  abolition  move 
ments.  *  *  *  The  apprehension  of  the  danger  of  abolition  was  the 
leading  consideration  amongst  the  people  for  opposing  the  call 
(of  the  convention).  But  for  that,  but  for  the  agitation  of  the 
question  of  abolition  in  States  whose  population  had  no  right,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  people  of  Kentucky,  to  interfere  in  the  matter, 
the  vote  for  the  convention  would  have  been  much  larger,  if  it 
had  not  been  carried."34  Considerable  evidence  has  been  found 
indicating  the  importance  of  radical  abolitionism  in  Kentucky 
during  this  period.  Professor  Shaler,  in  his  "Kentucky,  an 
American  Commonwealth,"  sums  up  the  matter  in  this  fashion: 
"From  the  local  histories  the  deliberate  student  will  easily  be 
come  convinced  that  if  there  had  been  no  external  pressure 
against  slavery  at  this  time  (1830-1840)  there  would  still  have 
been  a  progressive  elimination  of  the  slave  element  from  the  pop 
ulation  by  emancipation  on  the  soil,  by  the  sale  of  slaves  to  the 
planters  of  the  Southern  States,  and  by  their  colonization  in 
foreign  parts."35 

The  radical  abolition  propaganda  was  also  instrumental  in 
intensifying  sectional  feeling  which  previous  to  1830  had  not 
been  pronounced  in  Kentucky.  There  was  a  growing  feeling 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  Kentucky  as  a  slave  state  to  support  the 
southern  states  in  their  struggle  for  the  maintenance  of  slavery, 
and  this  determination  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the  coun 
tenance  and  assistance  rendered  to  the  Underground  Railroad 
System,  by  which  hundreds  of  citizens  of  Kentucky  were  un- 

»<  Annals  of  Congress,  1839,  Vol.  7,  p.  358.  Speech  on  Abolition  Petitions,  February 
7.  Clay  further  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  abolition  movement  had  set  back  for  half  a 
century  the  prospect  of  any  kind  of  emancipation  in  the  state. 

The  Liberator,  for  September  22,  1843,  quoting  from  the  Western  Citizen,  of  Paris, 
Ky.,  said:  "It  is  often  cast  into  the  teeth  of  abolitionists  that  their  agitation  of  the  slave 
question  in  the  free  states  has  prevented  emancipation  in  Kentucky  and  Virginia — that  those 
states  were  some  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  on  the  very  eve  of  emancipation,  but  the  discussion 
of  the  question  by  abolition  fanatics  at  the  North  drove  them  from  it."  The  Western  Citizen, 
however,  attributed  the  defeat  of  the  emancipation  to  the  attitude  of  Henry  Clay,  who  was 
bidding  for  the  Presidency. 

In  fc.  speech  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  in  1840,  Henry  Clay  said  that  before  abolitionists 
began  their  work  the  people  of  Kentucky  were  nearly,  if  not  altogether,  ready  for  the  passage 
of  a  law  for  the  gradual  emancipation,  "but  the  misguided,  and,  we  believe,  honest  zeal  of  the 
abolitionists,  had  to  a  great  extent  destroyed  this  feeling."  (The  Liberator,  October  21,  1842.) 

»*  Shaler:     "Kentucky,  Pioneer  Commonwealth,"  p.  197. 


110     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

lawfully  deprived  of  their  slaves.36  Thus  there  was  developed 
among  the  slaveholders  a  feeling  of  wrong  and  indignation,  and 
their  determination  to  oppose  in  every  way  possible  the  efforts 
of  the  radical  abolitionists  in  behalf  of  the  slave  was  greatly 
strengthened.  Thousands  of  men  who  earnestly  desired  eman 
cipation  by  some  gradual  constitutional  measure  were  unwillingly 
driven  to  the  support  of  the  institution  of  slavery.  There  was 
also  developed  a  stronger  and  more  determined  opposition  to  all 
anti-slavery  activities  within  the  state,  associating  all  such  efforts 
with  those  of  the  northern  abolitionists,  whose  activities  had  oc 
casioned  such  great  anxiety  and  economic  losses  within  the  state. 

56  The  practice  of  encouraging  and  assisting  fugitive  slaves  to  escape  to  the  free  states 
or  to  Canada  was  begun  in  Kentucky  as  early  as  1818  (Harris:  "Negro  Servitude  in  Illinois," 
p.  59;  Levi  Coffin:  "Reminiscences,"  p.  107),  although  it  was  not  very  well  established 
for  a  number  of  years  after  that  date.  As  early  as  1827  a  society  composed  of  slaveholders 
was  formed  in  Mason  County  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  measures  for  the  better  security 
of  their  slave  property.  (Maysville  Eagle,  July  11,  25,  1827.)  By  1835  the  number  of  fugitive 
slaves  that  annually  escaped  to  Ohio  and  Indiana  had  become  quite  large  and  the  chance  of 
recovering  them  very  small.  The  sentiment  in  the  free  states  to  the  North  was  so  strong 
against  slavery  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  secure  a  jury  that  would  convict  a  person  for 
assisting  slaves  to  escape  and  when  they  crossed  into  Kentucky  their  actions  were  so  guarded 
that  the  task  was  equally  difficult.  A  striking  illustration  of  this  was  the  arrest,  trial,  and 
acquittal  by  a  Kentucky  jury  in  1838  of  the  well-known  Ohio  abolitionist,  Rev.  John  B.  Mahan, 
for  inciting,  aiding  and  abetting  slaves  to  escape,  although  his  guilt  could  scarcely  be  ques 
tioned.  (Maysville  Eagle,  November  21,  1838;  Western  Presbyterian  Herald,  December 
13, 1838.)  The  Maysville  Eagle  in  reviewing  the  trial  said  that:  "Our  fellow-citizens  of  Ohio  will 
perceive  from  the  result  of  this  trial  that  there  is  no  disposition  on  our  part  to  interfere  with 
their  rights  or  to  encroach  upon  the  sovereignty  of  their  state.  Have  we  not  a  right  to  ask, 
in  return  that  they  will  frown  down  the  disposition  manifested,  by  a  portion  of  their  citizens, 
or  to  intermeddle  with  our  rights,  by  inciting,  aiding  and  abetting  the  escape  of  our  slaves 
which  we  esteem  property,  and  the  possession  of  which  is  guaranteed  to  us  by  our  common 
constitution."  (Maysville  Eagle,  November  21,  1838,  January  26,  1839.)  The  Common 
wealth  stated  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  had  displayed  more  forebearance  than  might  have 
been  expected  of  them  in  the  hope  that  "time  and  reflection  would,  of  themselves,  be  sufficient 
to  brhig  back  those  misguided  and  wicked  disturbers  of  her  repose,  to  a  sense  of  justice  and 
propriety."  This  moderation,  however,  had  led  to  more  and  greater  excesses.  A  solemn 
warning  was  issued  against  future  acts  of  this  nature  which  if  continued  might  lead  to  a  spirit 
of  retaliation  which  "may,  in  its  turn,  overleap  the  boundaries  of  propriety,  and  go  even  farther 
for  redress  than  they  have  gone  to  inflict  injury."  (The  Commonwealth,  December  26,  1838.) 

The  Governor,  in  his  annual  message,  in  1838,  discussed  at  considerable  length  this 
particular  grievance  against  the  Northern  Abolitionists  and  recommended  an  enactment  to 
prevent  the  propagation  of  the  views  and  arguments  of  the  abolitionists,  stating  that  they 
were  professedly  circulated  for  the  conviction  of  the  masters,  but  really  intended  to  operate 
on  the  slaves.  He  could  see  no  reason  why  a  man  should  be  tolerated  in  the  publication  of 
opinions  dangerous  and  ruinous  to  the  security  of  the  right  to  property  and  at  the  same  time 
be  restrained  from  a  publication  injurious  to  his  character."  (Maysville  Eagle,  December 
4,  11,  19,  1838.)  The  subject  was  early  brought  before  the  Legislature  when  the  numerous 
facts  brought  to  light  chiefly  by  the  Mahan  trial,  showing  the  methods  of  assisting  and  the 
extent  of  the  resultant  losses  of  slaves,  were  fully  discussed.  The  outcome  of  the  discussion 
was  that  two  commissioners  were  appointed  to  proceed  at  once  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  where 
the  Legislature  of  that  State  was  in  session  to  endeavor  to  induce  that  body  to  pass  a  law 
•calculated  to  prevent  the  interference  with  the  slave  property  of  Kentucky  by  evil-disposed 
persons  in  Ohio.  (The  Commonwealth,  December  26,  1838.)  The  commissioners  were 
received  with  courtesy  (The  Commonwealth,  February  6,  1839,)  although  they  were  not 
asked  to  speak  before  the  Legislature  as  they  had  anticipated.  (Maysville  Eagle,  February 
2,  1839).  The  Ohio  Legislature  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  and  with  the  approval  of  the 
Kentucky  Commissioners  passed  a  law  designed  to  remedy  the  above  grievances.  (Mays 
ville  Eagle,  December  4,  1839.)  Unfortunately,  the  matter  did  not  end  here,  for  neither 
Kentucky  nor  Ohio  were  able  to  permanently  break  up  the  work  of  the  Under  Ground  Rail 
road  System;  in  fact  the  number  of  slaves  who  annually  escaped  increased  alarmingly. 


THE  FAILURE  OF  EMANCIPATION  IN  THE 
CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1849. 


CHAPTER    IX 

The  failure  to  secure  the  calling  of  a  constitutional  con 
vention  in  1838  did  not  end  anti-slavery  efforts  in  Kentucky. 
The  pro-slavery  feeling  could  not  be  kept  at  the  heat  of  1837- 
1838  in  view  of  the  relatively  slight  direct  interest  of  most  Ken 
tucky  people  in  slavery,  a  fact  which  left  the  way  open  for  the 
anti-slavery  element  to  resume  their  activities.  This  was  recog 
nized  by  the  anti-slavery  leaders,  who  early  took  advantage  of 
it.  By  1840  the  cry  of  radical  abolition,  which  during  the  thir 
ties  had  counteracted  anti-slavery  sentiment,  had  lost  most  of 
its  force  so  that  many  openly  advocated  emancipation. l 

Cassius  M.  Clay  in  1840,  in  discussing  the  slavery  issue  in 
the  state  and  the  nation,  said,  "There  are  two  classes  of  fanatics 
in  these  states;  one  the  anti-slavery  fanatics,  the  'abolitionists,' 
the  other  the  slave  fanatics,  the  'disunionists.'  In  one  class  are 
those  reckless  spirits  who,  to  free  the  slave,  would  violate  the 
national  constitution  and  plunge  the  country  into  civil  war. 
The  other  class  are  those  enemies  of  human  liberty  and  the  pro 
gressive  civilization  who  would  destroy  the  same  ever-glorious 
palladium  of  freedom  and  equal  rights  among  men,  to  perpetuate 
slavery.  They  are  both  the  outlaws  of  nations  and  the  enemies 
of  mankind.  The  North  has  her  'abolitionists,'  her  Garrisons, 
her  Tappans.  The  South  has  her  'disunionists',  her  McDuffies 
and  her  Wickliffes.  From  such  malign  influences  may  Heaven 
in  its  mercy  preserve  my  native  land."2  A  comparatively  small 
number  of  either  of  these  classes  lived  in  Kentucky. 

Cassius  M.  Clay  was  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic,  outspoken 
and  determined  anti-slavery  sympathizers  in  the  state  during 
the  forties.  During  the  early  part  of  his  political  career,  he  held 
himself  decidedly  on  the  defensive  against  both  the  abolitionists 
and  the  slaveholders.  Against  the  abolitionists  he  appealed  to 
the  legal  rights  of  the  slaveholder,  and  on  the  ethical  side  of  the 

1  As  in  the  preceding  period  numerous  plans  of  gradual  emancipation  were  proposed 
and  their  merits  discussed.  Most  of  these  proposals  were  conservative  and  they  were  made 
in  many  instances,  by  slaveholders.  Of  especial  interest  was  a  pamphlet  published  at  Paris, 
Kentucky,  in  1837,  "Remarks  on  Slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade  by  a  Slaveholder,"  addressed 
to  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay. 

1  Cassius  M.  Clay:  "Review  of  the  Late  Canvass,"  p.  7. 


112     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

question  he  demanded  freedom  of  conscience.  Against  the  slave 
holders  he  invoked  the  limits  set  to  slavery  by  the  constitution, 
the  law  and  the  public  will,  because  of  his  belief  that  from  every 
point  of  view  slavery  exerted  a  malign  influence  upon  the  de 
velopment  of  the  state.3 

A  thoroughly  honorable  and  deeply  moral  nature,  such  as 
that  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,  could  not  long  remain  in  an  ambiguous 
position.  He  was  never  a  clear  thinker.  His  impelling  force 
was,  and  remained,  feeling,  which  reacted  to  every  stimulus 
too  vigorously  not  to  involve  him  in  frequent  and  glaring  in 
consistencies  in  thought  and  action. 

After  his  extended  speaking  trip  through  the  northern  and 
eastern  states  in  1843,  in  which  slavery  was  his  chief  subject  of 
discussion,  he  returned  to  his  native  state  a  much  more  pro 
nounced  opponent  of  slavery.  He  now  formally  submitted  to 
the  whole  "People  of  Kentucky"  his  confession  of  faith  in  an  ad 
dress,  the  substance  of  Which  was,  "I  proudly  aver  myself  the 
eternal  enemy  of  slavery,"  and  "Kentucky  must  be  free."4  He 
would  no  longer  be  content  with  attacking  slavery  at  one  point 
or  another,  but,  in  so  far  as  concerned  his  own  state,  he  would 
open  fire  along  the  whole  line,  and  would  end  the  struggle  only 
with  the  destruction  of  slavery.  His  assertion  that  Kentucky 
had  not  the  same  interest  as  the  plantation  states  in  the  main 
tenance  of  slavery  and  that  the  ninety  per  cent,  or  more  of  her 
people  who  were  not  slaveholders  had  the  highest  interest  in 
the  abolition  of  slavery  was  too  positive  and  too  clear  not  to 
cause  anxiety  to  slaveholders.  His  position  was  forcefully 
stated,  in  1843,  in  a  speech  before  a  mass  meeting  at  White  Sul 
phur  Springs,  in  Scott  County,  for  the  purpose  of  advocating  the 
annexation  of  Texas  in  which  he  maintained  that  the  most  im 
portant  object  of  those  who  desired  the  annexation  of  Texas  was 
to  extend  the  slave  territory  of  the  United  States.  Such  action, 
he  believed,  would  seriously  threaten  the  Union,  in  which  Ken 
tucky  was  more  vitally  interested  than  any  other  state.  All  her 
"interests,  temporal  and  eternal,  demand  of  her  speedily  to  ex 
tinguish  slavery  within  her  borders,  and  to  unite  her  destiny  with 
the  northern  states:  who  relying  upon  God,  Liberty  and  Equal 
ity,  will  be  able  to  stand  against  the  world  in  arms."5  And  in 

»  "The  writings  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay,"  edited  by  Horace  Greeley,  pp.  87,  88.  As 
late  as  1843  he  says:  "They  (the  abolitionists)  are  few  indeed,  and  deserve,  as  they  receive, 
the  execration  of  good  men  in  both  the  North  and  the  South." 

*  Ibid.,  p.  174f.   Soon  after  his  return  to  Kentucky  Clay  freed  his  own  slaves,  giving  them 
employment  on  his  estate  at  the  prevailing  wages. 

•  Cassius  M.  Clay,  "Speech  on  the  Annexation  of  Texas,"  1843,  Pamphlet,  p.  17f. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    113 

case  of  dissolution  of  the  Union  he  expressed  his  intention  of  cast 
ing  in  his  lot  with  the  North.  After  expressing  his  belief  in  com 
pensated  emancipation  he  said:.  "I  thus  far  pledge  myself  that 
whenever  Kentucky  will  join  me  in  freeing  ourselves  from  this 
curse  which  weighs  us  down  even  unto  death,  the  slaves  I  own, 
she  shall  dispose  of  as  to  her  seems  best.  I  shall  ask  nothing  in 
return  but  the  enhanced  value  of  my  land  which  must  ensure 
gradually  from  the  day  that  we  become  indeed  a  free  and  inde 
pendent  state.  I  will  go  still  further — give  me  free  labor  and  I 
will  not  only  give  up  my  slaves,  but  I  will  agree  to  be  taxed  to 
buy  the  remainder  from  those  who  are  unwilling  or  unable  con 
sistently  with  a  regard  to  pecuniary  interests  to  present  them  to 
the  state — and  then  I  shall  deem  myself  and  my  posterity  richer 
in  dollars  and  cents  than  we  were  before."  6  He  further  asserted 
that  emancipation  in  the  English  West  Indies  had  proved  that 
the  great  majority  of  the  freed  men  could  be  employed  economic 
ally  in  the  same  offices  at  small  wages  as  they  were  then  holding, 
with  more  ease  and  safety  than  under  the  existing  conditions.7 

Of  the  two  leading  political  parties  in  the  state  in  1840,  the 
Democrats  and  the  Whigs,  the  latter  had  by  far  the  largest  num 
ber  of  members  who  favored  emancipation.  Cassius  M.  Clay 
and  Henry  Clay  were  both  Whigs.  The  former  in  1840  and  1841 
represented  in  the  legislature  Bourbon  County,  one  of  the  largest 
slaveholding  counties  in  the  state.8  While  the  slavery  issue 
did  not  figure  in  all  the  political  contests  in  the  state  during  the 
forties  it  was  not  unusual  for  the  candidates  for  Congress  and 
the  state  legislature  voluntarily  or  by  request  to  state  their  posi 
tions  on  the  question  of  emancipation.  A  typical  instance  of 
this  is  found  in  Fayette  County  in  1845 ,  when  120  citizens  belong 
ing  about  equally  to  both  the  Whig  and  the  Democratic  parties 
signed  a  communication  which  they  presented  to  the  candidates 
for  the  state  and  the  national  offices,  asking  them  "to  let  their 
fellow  citizens  know  their  present  views,  and  what  will  be  their 
future  course,  if  elected,  upon  the  following  important  questions 
as  follows : 

"1.  Are  you  or  not,  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
Kentucky,  and  if  you  are,  please  give  a  synopsis  of  your  course 
and  plan  and  when  it  is  your  wish  to  see  it  effected? 

•  Cassius  M.  Clay,  "Speech  on  the  Annexation  of  Texas,"  Pamphlet,  p.  20ff. 
7  Ibid.,  p.  18. 

•  In  1843  the  Whig  candidate  for  Congress  from  the  Louisville  district,  Mr.  Thomasson 
an  ardent  and  active  anti-slavery  worker,  was  elected. 

The  Louisville  Public  Advertiser  (Dem.),  Sept.  29,  1843,  in  commenting  upon  the 
election,  characterized  Thomasson  as  "about  as  thorough  an  abolitionist  in  theory  as  can  be 
found  outside  the  Liberator  Office  or  the  World's  Convention." 


114     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

"2.  Are  you  or  not,  in  favor  of  emancipation  in  Kentucky, 
either  gradual  or  immediate;  if  you  are,  we  should  be  pleased  to 
hear  your  views  on  the  subject  in  full,  and  how  you  desire  to  see 
them  consummated. 

"3.  If  slavery  is  to  cease  in  Kentucky  either  by  abolition 
or  present  or  gradual  emancipation,  we  respectfully  ask  you  to 
let  us  hear  what  you  are  in  favor  of  doing  with  the  slaves  after 
they  are  freed  and  are  they  to  remain  amongst  us  here  or  be 
removed. 

"4.  Are  you  or  not,  in  favor  of  the  change  of  the  constitu 
tion  of  Kentucky,  and  if  you  are,  what  changes  do  you  desire? 

'  '5 .  Are  you  or  not,  in  favor  of  the  entire  repeal  of  the  negro 
law,  usually  called  the  'Negro  Law  of  1832-3'  now  on  our  statute 
books?"9  Robert  Wickliffe,  the  candidate  for  the  legislature 
from  Fayette  County,  refused  to  answer  the  inquiry  or  to  take 
the  pledge  required  to  oppose  the  repeal  of  the  Law  of  1832-3  and 
as  a  result  was  defeated.  In  a  circular  addressed  to  the  "Free 
men  of  Fayette  County,"  he  stated  that  the  abolitionists  had 
"ruled  and  governed"  the  county  from  1840  to  1845  and  "put  up 
or  put  down  whom  they  pleased." l  °  "When  this  has  been  your 
subserviency  to  the  mandates  of  these  clubites,"  he  continued, 
"are  you  astonished  that  the  abolitionists  have  located  in  your 
city,  and  in  other  cities  and  towns  in  the  county?"1 1 

Early  in  1845  Cassius  M.  Clay,  in  co-operation  with  some 
other  Kentuckians,  made  proposals  to  publish  a  paper,  "The 
True  American,"  devoted  to  free  discussion  of  gradual  emanci 
pation  in  Kentucky.  In  this  statement,  which  attracted  nation 
wide  attention,  he  attempted  to  show  that  slavery  was  morally 
wrong  and  opposed  to  the  economic  interest  of  Kentucky. 1 2  He 
advised  the  organization  of  the  anti-slavery  forces  in  all  the 
counties  of  the  state  and  the  nomination  of  candidates  pledged 
to  support  a  call  for  a  convention.  These  candidates  were  to 
"run  again  and  again  till  victory  shall  perch  on  the  standard  of 
the  free." 1 3  As  early  as  February  18,  in  a  letter  to  Gerrit  Smith 


•  The  Liberator,  August  15,  1845.     Quoted  from  the  Lexington  Inquirer. 

19  R.  Wickliffe:  "A  Circular  Addressed  to  the  Freemen  of  the  County  of  Fayette, 
Kentucky,"  Pamphlet  (1845),  pp.  6-7. 

"  Ibid.,  p.  18. 

«  The  Liberator,  Feb.  21,  1845.  He  said  further:  "Kentuckians  will  be  richer  in  dol 
lars  and  cents  by  emancipation,  and  slaveholders  will  be  wealthier  by  the  change.  I  assert 
from  my  own  knowledge,  that  lands  of  the  same  quality  in  the  free,  are  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent,  higher  in  value  than  in  the  slave  states — in  some  cases  six 
hundred  per  cent,  higher.  Lands  six  miles  from  Cincinnati,  in  Ohio,  I  am  credibly  informed, 
are  worth  sixty  dollars  per  acre,  whilst  in  Kentucky,  at  the  same  distance  from  that  city,  and 
of  the  same  quality  are  worth  only  ten  dollars  per  acre.  Now  the  slaveholders  of  the  state 
with  rare  exceptions  are  the  land  owners  of  the  state;  they,  therefore,  absolutely  increase  their 
fortunes  by  liberating  their  slaves,  even  without  compensation." 

"  The  Liberator,  Feb.  21,  1845. 


Failure  of  Em'ancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    115 

he  said  that  he  had  already  received  240  subscribers  in  his  home 
county  and  was  expecting  five  or  six  thousand  from  the  North.  * 4 
During  May,  W.  C.  Bell  secured  in  New  England  subscribers 
for  the  paper,  among  whom  Daniel  Webster  was  one  of  the  first. J  5 
After  reading  the  prospectus,  William  Lloyd  Garrison  predicted 
that  Clay  would  not  long  be  permitted  to  continue  the  publi 
cation.  1 6 

The  first  number  of  The  True  American,  which  was  pub 
lished  weekly,  appeared  in  Lexington,  June  3,  1845.  The  de 
clared  purpose  was  to  accomplish,  by  discreet  argument  and  by 
legal  means,  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  in  Kentucky.  The 
first  leading  article  was  devoted  to  a  denunciation  of  those  who 
demanded  the  suppression  of  the  paper  in  the  interest  of  sup 
pressing  discussions  of  slavery.17  At  the  outset,  The  True 
American  had  about  300  subscribers  within  the  state  and  about 
1,700  in  other  states  and  a  few  weeks  more  sufficed  to  dispel 
any  doubt  that  it  would  shortly  exert  influence  and  power.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  two  months  of  its  existence,  the  subscription 
list  had  increased  to  700  in  Kentucky  and  to  2,700  in  other 
states.  Not  only  did  the  number  of  its  subscribers  grow  with 
rapidity,  alarming  to  its  enemies,  but  its  influence  became 
very  apparent  upon  the  Kentucky  press.18  The  Green 
field  Gazette  (Mass.)  said  that  the  paper  was  destined  to  exert  a 
powerful  influence  "particularly  in  the  slave  states,  in  bringing 
about  the  downfall  of  the  accursed  institution  of  slavery  in  this 
country.*  *  *This  paper,  if  continued,  and  we  hope  that  it  will  be, 
will  effect  in  one  year  more  than  can  be  accomplished  by  a  hun 
dred  Garrisons  and  his  coadjutors  in  the  space  of  ten."19  The 
True  American  made  a  strong  appeal  to  the  non-slaveholders 
of  the  state  and  won  considerable  favor  with  them. 

Plans  for  holding  a  great  emancipation  convention  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1846,  met  with  the  approval  of  many  of  the  promi 
nent  citizens  of  the  state,  many  of  whom  were  slaveholders.20 
The  pro-slavery  leaders  became  very  much  alarmed  and  deter 
mined  to  take  steps  at  once  to  stop  the  movement  before  it  was  too 

"  The  Liberator,  April  4,  1845. 

»  Ibid.,  May  2,  1845. 

"  Ibid.,  Feb.  28,  1845. 

"  "Appeal  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  to  Kentucky  and  the  World,"  Pamphlet,  p.  14f.  Clay 
was  especially  bitter  in  the  denunciation  of  some  of  his  enemies,  particularly  Robert  Wickliffe, 
and  he  declared  his  willingness  to  meet  them  with  the  bowie-knife  or  the  pistol.  Garrison, 
in  The  Liberator,  June  20,  1845,  while  approving  the  general  spirit  of  the  paper  said  that  these 
denunciations  were  "in  bad  taste,  as  well  as  in  the  wrong  spirit,  and  may  lead  to  bloody  results. ' ' 

"  Ibid.  The  anti-slavery  leaders  at  Louisville  took  the  initiatory  steps  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  similar  paper  there. 

11  The  Liberator,  August  1,  1845. 

»•  "Appeal  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  to  Kentucky***,"  p.  5. 


116     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

late.  On  the  14th  of  August,  1845,  "a  number  of  respectable 
citizens"  of  Lexington  resolved  to  "request"  Clay  to  cease  the 
publication  of  his  paper,  because  it  endangered  the  peace  of  the 
Commonwealth  and  the  safety  of  their  families.  A  committee 
upon  which  two  of  Clay's  most  bitter  enemies  had  been  placed 
was  appointed  to  acquaint  him  with  this  resolution.  They 
called  at  his  home  and  explained  that  they  did  not  approach  him 
in  the  form  of  a  threat,  but  exhorted  him  to  consider  well  that 
his  own  safety  depended  upon  his  answer. 2  1  Clay  was  ill  at  the 
time  and  unable  to  leave  his  house,  but  he  made  a  vigorous  reply: 
"Traitors  to  the  laws  and  constitution  cannot  be  deemed  respect 
able  by  any  but  assassins,  pirates,  and  highway  robbers.*  **  I 
treat  them  with  the  burning  contempt  of  a  brave  heart  and  a  loy 
al  citizen.  I  deny  their  power  and  defy  their  action."22  Fol 
lowing  this  communication,  he  made  a  number  of  appeals  to  the 
people  by  means  of  the  publication  of  hand  bills  and  pamphlets, 
which  were  widely  distributed.  In  these  he  attempted  to  prove 
that  he  was  not  as  black  as  he  had  been  pictured ;  that  all  his  act 
ions  had  been  strictly  legal ;  and,  furthermore,  that  he  desired  to 
bring  about  the  abolition  of  slavery  only  in  a  constitutional  way. 
He  repudiated  a  number  of  articles  that  had  appeared  in  his  pa 
per  during  his  illness,  of  which  he  knew  nothing  before  their  pub 
lication,  and  he  promised  that  in  the  future  the  paper  would  be 
managed  with  more  moderation  and  discretion  and  that  the  dis 
cussions  in  its  columns  would  be  within  narrower  limits.  A  few 
days  later  he  appeared  unexpectedly  before  a  large  mass  meeting 
of  his  enemies  and  in  a  passionate  speech  attempted  to  justify 
his  conduct  as  editor  of  the  paper.  These  appeals  had  no  effect 
upon  Clay's  enemies,  who  had  already  assembled  a  determined 
mob  from  the  surrounding  country  to  make  sure  the  accomplish 
ment  of  their  plan.  A  committee  of  sixty  men,  among  them 
James  B.  Clay,  a  son  of  Henry  Clay,  demanded  the  keys  of  the 
printing  office  from  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  to  whom  they  had 
been  delivered  in  accordance  with  a  judicial  order.  After  ad 
monishing  the  committee  that  they  were  about  to  commit  an 
unlawful  act,  the  Mayor  surrendered  the  keys.  The  committee 
proceeded  at  once  to  the  office  of  The  True  American  which  had 
been  fortified  by  Clay  with  two  four  pound  brass  cannon  and 
other  arms  and  was  defended  by  six  men  employed  for  that  pur 
pose.  Clay  decided  at  the  last  moment  not  to  offer  any  resist- 

»i  "The  writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  290.  See  also  "Appeal  of  Cassius  M. 
Clay  to  Kentucky  *  *  *,"  p.  5. 

"  "The  writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  110.  "Appeal  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  to 
Kentucky***, "p.  llf. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    117 

ance,  and  the  committee  in  a  very  orderly  way  packed  up  the 
press  and  the  types  and  sent  them  to  Cincinnati  in  care  of  a  re 
liable  firm.  All  the  private  papers  found  in  the  office  were  care 
fully  bound  and  mailed  to  Clay  at  his  residence. 23  Clay  at  once 
filed  suit  against  the  leaders  and  three  years  later  received  a 
judgment  against  James  B.  Clay  and  T.  H.  Waters  for  $2,500. 
This  sum  was  secured  by  subscription  on  the  part  of  the  Commit 
tee  of  Sixty  in  Fayette  and  the  adjoining  counties. 2 4  The  action 
of  the  "Lexington  mob"  did  not  put  an  end  to  The  True  Ameri 
can,  for  Clay  remained  in  Lexington  and  The  True  American 
continued  to  be  written  and  dated  there,  but  was  thenceforth 
printed  in  Cincinnati.  A  few  weeks  after  the  removal  of  his 
press  to  Cincinnati,  Clay  published  in  pamphlet  form  an  "Ap 
peal  to  Kentucky  and  the  World"  in  which  he  attempted  to  ex 
plain  and  justify  his  part  in  connection  with  The  True  Ameri 
can.25 

Mass  meetings  were  held  in  various  parts  of  the  state,  en 
dorsing  the  actions  of  the  "Lexington  mob."26  Many  of  the 
leading  newspapers  justified  the  act,  but  a  number  were  non 
committal  and  some  actually  condemned  it  as  an  infringement 
of  the  freedom  of  speech  and  the  press.  The  papers  discussed 
at  length  the  advisability  of  passing  a  law  providing  for  strict 
censorship  of  the  press  with  a  view  to  excluding  all  anti-slavery 
literature  from  the  state.  A  bill  to  that  effect  was  introduced 
during  January,  1846,  and  passed  the  Senate,  but  was  defeated 
in  the  House,  largely  by  the  members  from  the  non-slave  hold 
ing  counties. 2  7 

During  the  controversy  just  related  the  Mexican  War  broke 
out  and,  although  Clay  had  bitterly  condemned  the  annexation 
of  Texas,  he  enlisted  in  the  army  and  at  the  head  of  a  company 
of  Kentucky  troops  marched  to  the  front.  He  gave  the  follow 
ing  justification  of  this  action:  "In  the  slave  states  the  political 
forces  were  quite  different  from  those  of  the  Free  states.  In  the 
former  the  great  mass  of  the  voters  could  not  read;  and  they 
were  led  by  political  speakers  on  the  stump,  when  the  orators  of 
both  parties  made  their  appeals.  It  was,  therefore,  to  the  suc- 

"  "Appeal  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  to  Kentucky  ***."  p.  Hf.  E.  S.  Kinkead,  "Story  of 
Kentucky."  p.  154.  See  also,  The  Liberator,  Aug.  29,  Sept.  12,  Oct.  31,  1845;  The  Anti- 
Slavery  Bugle,  Aug.  29.  Sept.  5,  Oct.  31,  1845;  and  Niles1  Register,  Vol.  68,  p.  408,  Vol.  69. 
pp.  13-15. 

'«  "Writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1.  p.  108.  See  also  Liberator,  Oct.  17,  1845; 
July  14,  1848. 

"  "Appeal  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  to  Kentucky***.  "Sept.  25,  1845.  Appeared  in  The  True 
American,  Sept.  5,  1845. 

*•  A  meeting  was  called  at  Washington,  Mason  County,  by  a  notice  signed  by  456  citizens. 
The  meeting,  one  of  the  largest  ever  held  in  the  county,  adopted  strong  resolutions  approving 
the  actions  of  the  "Lexington  mob."  Maysville  Eagle,  Oct.  5,  1845. 

"  The  Liberator,  March  20,  1846,  quoted  from  The  True  American. 


118     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

cessful  progress  of  my  cause  that  I  should  add  to  the  liberty  of 
the  press  the  liberty  of  public  discussion.  *  *  *Kentuckians  being 
exceptionally,  from  their  early  history,  fond  of  military  glory, 
I  hoped  by  the  Mexican  War,  to  strengthen  myself  so  that  I 
could  take  the  stump,  when  I  would  be  an  overmatch  for  all  my 
foes;  when,  if  deemed  necessary,  The  True  American  could  be 
located  at  some  point  secure  against  mobs,  and  act  as  an  ally  of 
public  discussion.  The  result  proved  that  I  was  right."28 

Clay  left  his  friend,  John  C.  Vaughan,  a  South  Carolinian 
by  birth,  in  charge  of  the  paper  during  his  absence,  with  his 
brother  Brutus  J.  Clay  as  his  financial  manager.  The  sub 
scription  list  fell  off  considerably  after  the  opening  of  the  War 
and  in  view  of  the  uncertainty  of  Clay's  return  it  was  thought 
best  after  several  months  to  give  up  the  publication  of  the  pa 
per.  2  9  Thereupon  Vaughan  took  the  materials  and  list  of  sub 
scribers  and  located  in  Louisville,  where  associated  with  F. 
Crosley,  a  Kentuckian,  he  started  the  publication  of  an  anti- 
slavery  paper  on  the  order  of  The  True  American,  The  Examin 
er,30  which  first  appeared  June  19,  1847.31 

In  the  first  number  the  objects  were  given  in  the  following 
words:  "The  necessity  of  such  a  paper  as  The  Examiner  seems 
clear  enough  to  our  friends,  Because: 

"First,  of  the  extent  of  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  Kentucky. 
There  never  was  a  period  when  our  people  did  not  feel  it.  At 
the  formation  of  our  constitution  the  convention  came  within  a 
few  votes  of  inserting  in  it  a  gradual  emancipation  clause,  and 
in  1832  public  opinion  was  almost  ripe  for  such  a  step.  The 
feeling  is  not  apparently  as  strong  now.  It  is  still,  however,  in 
its  outspoken  form  an  energetic  element  and  if  all  causes  of  in 
terest  were  removed  we  believe  it  would  be  overwhelming  in  its 
action.  Shall  this  sentiment  have  no  organ?*  *  *The  object  of  The 
Examiner  will  be  to  represent  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  Ken 
tucky,  and  as  far  as  it  can,  to  extend  it — to  inquire  into  and  to 
discuss  all  reform  measures  and  to  advocate,  to  the  best  of  its 
ability  every  claim  of  humanity.  *  *  *  If  a  single  person  labors  by 

**  Henry  Clay  and  the  majority  of  the  Whigs  of  Kentucky  opposed  the  annexation  of 
Texas.  In  1847  Henry  Clay,  as  presiding  officer  of  a  great  mass  meeting  at  Lexington,  spoke 
for  two  hours  and  a  half  against  President  Folk's  action  in  sending  General  Taylor  into  the 
disputed  territory,  thus  precipitating  hostilities.  Resolutions  were  adopted  opposing  the 
annexation  of  any  territory  which  might  be  secured  as  a  result  of  the  war.  (Anti-Slavery  Bugle. 
November  26;  December  16,  1847.)  The  Cleveland  Herald,  in  commenting  upon  Clay's 
speech  said  that  the  speech  "would  do  more  good  than  10,000  abolition  lectures  to  help  forward 
the  glorious  era  of  emancipation."  (Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  December  10,  1847.) 

»  "Writing  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  175. 

»•  "Writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  109f. 

"  The  Examiner,  June  19,  1847.  A  file  of  this  paper  is  in  the  Library  of  the  University 
of  Chicago.  See  also  The  Examiner,  Sept.  11,  1847.  John  Heywood  and  Noble  Butler  were 
later  added  to  the  staff. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    119 

himself,  the  power  which  consists  in  union  is  wanting.  A  drop 
of  rain  will  produce  no  moisture  on  the  dry  clod ;  but  when  it  is 
united  with  other  drops,  the  copious  shower  revives  the  dying 
plant  and  gladdens  the  whole  face  of  nature.  If  thus  we  are 
united,  we  shall  make  Kentucky  the  home  of  the  free,  as  well  as 
as  of  the  brave,  and  awaken  in  our  sister  states  of  the  South  the 
spirit  which  will  not  tire  until  crowned  with  the  glory  of  uni 
versal  emancipation."32  A  few  weeks  later  the  editor  asserted 
that  The  Examiner  was  "strictly  an  anti-slavery  paper,  and  the 
organ  and  exponent  of  the  emancipation  movement  in  Ken 
tucky."  3  3 

In  the  first  number  was  begun  a  long  series  of  articles  signed 
"A  Carolinian"  and  entitled  an  "Inquiry  into  the  causes  which 
have  retarded  the  accumulation  of  wealth  and  increase  of  popu 
lation  in  the  southern  states."34  A  little  later  was  printed  the 
speech  of  David  Rice  before  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
Kentucky  in  1792  in  support  of  a  proposed  amendment  provid 
ing  for  gradual  emancipation. 35  A  number  of  other  articles 
appeared  from  time  to  time,  mostly  of  an  economic  character, 
running  through  several  issues  of  the  paper.36  The  most  im 
portant  of  these  was  a  serial  in  twenty-five  parts  on  "Thoughts 
of  Emancipation."37  Many  of  these  articles  were  copied  into 
other  Kentucky  papers  and  found  in  that  way  more  extensive 
circulation. 

A  comparatively  small  amount  of  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  Kentucky  press  was  manifested  to  the  publica 
tion  of  The  Examiner.  The  Louisville  Journal,  a  Democratic 
paper,  said  of  it:  "We  take  pleasure  in  saying  from  our  personal 
knowledge  of  the  editors  of  The  Examiner,  we  are  confident  they 
will  discuss  it  (slavery)  with  ability,  and  in  a  spirit  of  calmness 
and  moderation  offering  no  occasion  for  offense  to  any  portion 
of  the  community."38  The  other  Louisville  papers  maintained 
the  same  attitude  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Baptist  Ban 
ner  and  Pioneer,  which  stated  that  "The  Examiner  is,  we  take 

"  The  Examiner,  June  19,  1847.  Clay,  in  a  letter  to  the  Examiner  dated  Dec.  18,  1847, 
said,  "The  Examiner  has  succeeded  The  True  American.  My  detention  in  a  Mexican  prison 
delayed  my  return  longer  than  was  anticipated;  the  editor  of  The  Examiner  has  forestalled  my 
wishes,  and  is  now  fulfilling  all  my  obligations  to  my  subscribers  by  substituting  his  paper  for 
mine.  Those  who  have  seen  both  papers  will  not  regret  the  change.  I  ask  for  him  the  con 
tinuance  of  that  generous  support  in  that  cause  which  was  in  me  shown  dear  to  so  many  noble 
Americans." 

*>  The  Examiner,  Sept.  11,  1847.     See  also  March  4,  1848. 

'<  The  Examiner,  June  19.  1847,  July  3,  1847. 

»  Ibid.,  Aug.  28,  Sept.  4,  14,  1847. 

M  Ibid.,  September  2,  1847.  Number  3  of  "Elements of  Progress"  appeared  September  2; 
Number  1  of  "Effects  of  Slavery  on  Industry"  appeared  February  6,  1848. 

17  "Thoughts  on  Emancipation,"  September,  1847,  to  June  10,  1848.  They  were  signed 
"A,"  the  real  author  being  Jas.  M.  Pendleton,  of  Bowling  Green. 

"  The  Louisville  Journal,  June  22,  1847. 


120     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

it,  'The  True  American'  revived,"  and  "they  will  mistake  the 
spirit  of  our  citizens,  if  they  encourage  an  avowed  notorious 
abolitionist  of  a  neighboring  city,  to  come  here  or  to  remain  in 
Cincinnati  (Mr.  Vaughan  was  at  that  time  a  resident  of  that 
place) ,  where  he  now  resides,  and  throw  firebrands  into  the  com 
munity.  "  3  9  The  confidence  of  the  Louisville  press  was  j  ustified . 
The  Examiner  was  at  all  times  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  fairness 
and  retained  in  consequence  the  respect  and  the  friendship  of 
the  majority  of  the  papers  of  the  state.  At  the  end  of  the  first 
year  of  the  existence  of  the  paper,  the  opposition,  which  in  some 
sections  had  been  pronounced  at  first,  had  practically  subsid 
ed.40  The  Journal  and  the  Courier  of  Louisville,  and  the 
Shelbyville  News  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  The  Examiner 
and  frequently  copied  articles  from  it.  The  Journal  declared 
that  it  was  the  best  paper  of  its  class  in  the  Union  and  said  that 
the  editors  were  ' 'gentlemen  of  the  most  decided  ability,  and 
some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  state  are  contributors  to  its  col 
umns."41 

All  this  agitation  could  not  go  on  without  producing  some 
effect  politically.  In  fact,  the  anti-slavery  workers,  undis- 
couraged  by  the  defeat  of  the  convention  in  1838,  had  persis 
tently  labored  to  have  the  question  of  a  convention  again  sub 
mitted  to  the  people.  Inasmuch  as  the  constitution  of  1799 
had  many  defects  which  needed  remedying,  and  since  the  anti- 
slavery  forces  did  not  seem  to  be  strong  enough  to  make  a  con 
vention  dangerous,  the  pro-slavery  men  joined  with  anti-slavery 
men  in  demanding  that  the  question  of  a  convention  be  submit 
ted  to  a  vote.  During  the  early  part  of  January,  1846,  a  bill  to 
this  effect  passed  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  was  rejected 
in  the  Senate.42  In  the  following  year,  it  passed  both  Houses 
and  the  first  vote  was  set  for  August,  1847.  In  the  interval  be 
tween  the  issuance  of  the  call  and  the  first  vote  on  the  conven 
tion,  the  anti-slavery  element  was  very  active  in  some  sections 
of  the  state,  especially  in  and  around  Louisville,  which,  due 
largely  to  the  industrial  character  of  the  city,  had  become  the 
stronghold  of  anti-slavery  in  the  state.  In  other  sections  the. 
slavery  question  seemed  to  be  of  minor  consideration.  In  the 
August  election,  the  people  supported  the  call  for  a  convention 
by  a  majority  of  about  30,000  votes.43  The  Examiner,  in  re- 

«•  The  Baptist  Banner  and  Pioneer,  June  23,  1847. 

«•  The  Examiner,  June  17,  1848.  October  28,  it  was  stated  that  "The  day  has  gone 
by  when  a  frown,  a  threat  or  a  curse  was  sufficient  to  paralyze  the  human  tongue." 

«  The  Louisville  Journal,  October  21,  1848. 

«  The  Commonwealth,  Jan.  20,  1846;  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  Jan.  15,  1846.  The 
vote  in  the  House  was  56  to  40  and  in  the  Senate,  18  to  20. 

«  Miles'  Register,  Vol.  72,  p.  400;  The  Examiner,  August  4,  September  4,  October  9, 1847. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    121 

viewing  the  results  of  the  election,  said:  "We  do  not  say  that  all 
who  voted  for  the  convention  are  in  favor  of  emancipation;  but 
this  we  do  say,  that  the  great  majority  are."44  The  Louisville 
Courier  also  maintained  that  the  anti-slavery  men  had  forced 
the  call  for  a  convention.45  The  mountainous  counties  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state,  where  but  few  slaves  were  held,  and 
the  counties  along  the  Ohio  River  gave  the  largest  majorities 
for  the  bill.46 

In  the  second  election  held  a  year  later,  the  people  again 
sanctioned  the  calling  of  a  constitutional  convention  by  about 
the  same  majority.47  It  then  became  the  duty  of  the  legisla 
ture,  which  did  not  meet  until  January,  1849,  to  arrange  for  the 
election  of  delegates  and  the  time  and  the  place  for  the  meeting 
of  the  convention. 

The  year  1848  was  marked  by  a  revival  of  interest  in  eman 
cipation  and  this  interest  increased  with  the  approach  of  the 
time  for  the  election  of  delegates.  Discussions  of  emancipation 
in  the  newspapers  and  on  the  stump  became  much  more  general. 
For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  state,  the  question  of  local 
option  as  a  means  of  abolishing  slavery  was  now  seriously  advo 
cated.  A  large  number  of  similar  proposals  appeared  in  The  Ex 
aminer,  which,  as  was  to  be  expected,  entertained  a  kindly  feel 
ing  toward  the  idea.  By  this  plan  two-thirds  of  the  vote  in  any 
county  might  abolish  slavery  in  that  county.48  The  Examiner 
maintained  that  if  such  a  plan  should  be  adopted  in  all  the  slave 
states  it  would  be  only  a  question  of  a  few  years  until  eastern 
Kentucky,  eastern  Tennessee  and  western  Virginia,  western 
North  Carolina  and  western  South  Carolina  would  abolish  slav 
ery,  as  well  as  a  number  of  the  river  counties  of  Kentucky. 
Louisville,  it  was  believed,  would  not  delay  such  action  a  single 
year.49  The  Examiner  spoke  encouragingly  of  the  growing 
emancipation  sentiment  in  the  state.50 

"  The  Examiner,  August  4,  1847. 

"  The  Louisville  Courier.  August  6,  1847. 

41  The  Examiner,  October  9,  1847. 

41  Miles'  Register,  Vol.  74,  p.  277.  The  Louisville  Courier,  February  21,  1849,  in  com 
menting  on  the  recent  election  said.  "We  should  like  to  know  what  particular  object  those 
gentlemen,  who  are  fighting  so  much  against  emancipation  think  the  people  of  Kentucky  had 
in  voting  in  favor  of  a  convention.  What  great  evil  did  the  people  feel  pressing  upon  them 
to  require  the  immense  vote  of  101,828  in  favor  of  remodeling  the  constitution?  The  magis 
tracy  has  never  been  felt  as  an  oppression,  the  mode  of  appointing  sheriffs  is  not  very  disas 
trous  to  the  people,  nor  have  the  clerkships  ever  been  felt  as  a  serious  oppression.  What 
great  predominant  idea  was  upon  the  public  mind,  if  it  was  not  the  principle  of  emancipation? 
Scarcely  a  solitary  friend  of  perpetual  slavery  can  be  found  among  the  101,828  votes  in  favor 
of  a  convention.**  *  All  attempts  to  hinder  discussion,  to  choke  off  free  inquiry,  or  to  paralyze 
public  sentiment  will  recoil  on  the  heads  of  those  who  make  the  attempt.  The  people  of  Ken 
tucky  know  their  rights  and  will  maintain  them." 

«•  The  Examiner.  January  8;  March  25;  June  10.  1848. 

'•  The  Examiner,  March  25.  1848. 

*•  The  Examiner.  April  8,  1848. 


122     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

In  February  of  1848,  emancipation  meetings  composed  of 
many  of  the  leading  men  of  both  political  parties  were  held  in 
Louisville  and  committees  were  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  plans  for  the  coming  elections.  A  general  address  was 
issued  to  the  people  of  Kentucky  advocating  the  adoption  of 
some  plan  of  gradual  emancipation. 6  x  As  the  question  of  eman 
cipation  attracted  more  and  more  attention  throughout  the 
state,  numerous  plans  were  proposed,  most  of  which  called  for 
some  slow  conservative  plan  of  gradual  emancipation.52  Dur 
ing  the  summer  of  1848  Ex-Governor  Letcher,  of  Kentucky,  in  a 
speech  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  in  discussing  the  question  of 
emancipation  in  his  own  state  declared  that  only  the  radical  ele 
ment  of  the  extreme  South  desired  the  extension  of  slavery  and 
that  he  believed  that  the  people  of  Kentucky,  in  the  coming 
constitutional  convention,  would  provide  some  plan  for  the  grad 
ual  emancipation  of  slaves.53  A  number  of  the  leading  news 
papers  of  the  state  came  out  for  emancipation  about  this  time. 
The  Lexington  Atlas  prided  itself  on  being  the  only  Whig  news 
paper  in  the  state  which  had  taken  a  decided  stand  against  eman 
cipation.54  While  the  Louisville  Courier  was  an  enthusiastic 
supporter  of  emancipation,  the  Louisville  Journal  took  little 
part  in  the  campaign,  believing  that  there  was  little  chance  for 
the  success  of  emancipation  at  that  time. 5  5  This  was  also  the 
position  of  the  Lexington  Observer  and  other  newspapers  in  the 
state. 

The  editor  of  The  Examiner  said  that  the  subject  of  eman 
cipation  was  becoming  more  and  more  the  engrossing  topic 
throughout  the  state.  Even  in  neighborhoods  in  which  the  dis 
cussion  of  the  subject  had  been  unusual,  men  now  expressed  their 
opinions  freely.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  friends  of  emancipation 
to  promote  these  discussions,  but  a  warning  was  issued  to  be  ' 'ex 
tremely  careful  to  keep  aloof  from  angry  and  embittered  con 
troversy,  which  always  confirms  the  prejudices  of  the  opponent. 
Be  gentle,  discreet,  and  yet  firm.  Do  not  hazard  any  wild  prop 
ositions.  Keep  attention  fixed  on  those  evils  which  result  from 
slavery  and  are  sufficiently  manifest  in  every  section  of  the  state. 
Let  slavery  in  the  abstract,  as  it  is  called,  alone,  and  talk  of 

11  The  Examiner,  March  3,  17,  1848.  William  L.  Breckinridge  was  one  of  the  most 
active  of  the  Louisville  anti-slavery  members. 

"  One  plan  called  for  the  freeing  of  all  males  born  after  1850,  at  the  age  of  25,  and  of  all 
females  at  the  age  of  21.  (Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  September  15,  1848.)  See  also,  The  Examiner, 
October  28,  1848.  A  series  of  12  articles  addressed  to  the  "Mechanics  Workingmen  of  Ken 
tucky,"  was  running  at  this  time. 

11  Indianapolis  Journal,  October  9,  1848. 

»«  The  Examiner,  January  27,  1849. 

"  The  Louisville  Journal,  January  23,  1849. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    123 

slavery  as  it  exists  around  us."  5  6  During  the  latter  part  of  1848, 
a  number  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  state  issued  5  7  a  long 
"Address  to  the  People  of  Kentucky,"  advocating  the  adoption 
of  a  plan  of  emancipation  similar  to  the  plan  by  which  Pennsyl 
vania,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey  had  abolished  slavery.  They 
expressed  the  hope  that  this  plan  might  be  accompanied  by  a 
system  of  African  colonization  that  would  remove  the  blacks 
from  Kentucky  as  fast  as  they  were  freed.58  The  Western Ken- 
tuckian,  in  commenting  upon  the  address,  said:  "We  again  in 
voke  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  this  document.  Its  authors 
are  men  of  talents  and  character  whose  interests  are  all  bound 
up  in  the  fortunes  of  the  state.  What  they  would  propose  for 
her  amelioration,  therefore,  may  well  be  supposed  worthy  of  the 
notice,  if  not  of  the  approbation,  of  her  citizens."59 

The  pro-slavery  leaders  were  equally  active  during  this  time. 
To  counteract  the  influence  of  The  Examiner  and  other  news 
papers  supporting  emancipation  they  decided  to  establish  in 
Louisville  a  newspaper,  The  Chronicle,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  opposing  any  form  of  emancipation  whatever.60  While  as  a 
rule  they  upheld  free  discussion,61  there  were  occasional  threats 
of  violence  and  a  few  cases  in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  sup 
press  discussion  of  the  subject  in  the  press  and  on  the  platform.62 
Cassius  M.  Clay  and  other  anti-slavery  leaders  made  it  their 
special  business  to  uphold  the  freedom  of  the  press  and  not  to  be 
intimidated,  because  they  realized  that  if  they  were  not  permit 
ted  to  speak  freely  according  to  their  constitutional  rights,  their 
whole  scheme  of  emancipation  would  certainly  fail.  Clay  made 
it  a  policy  to  speak  publicly  in  every  town  w^here  violence  had 
occurred.  When  John  G.  Fee  was  prevented  by  violence  from 
preaching  near  Crab  Orchard,  Lincoln  County,  because  he  op 
posed  slavery,  Clay  at  once  arranged  to  speak  in  the  same  place 
on  slavery  and  had  posters  widely  circulated.  Armed  and  sur 
rounded  by  armed  followers  he  delivered  the  address  without 
any  disturbance.63  In  another  instance,  in  the  same  county, 
the  pro-slavery  element  met  at  Stanford,  the  county  seat,  and 

»•  The  Examiner,  November  25,  1848. 

"  The  address  was  signed  by  Chancellor  S.  S.  Nicholas,  Pat.  Maxcy,  D.  L.  Beatty. 
Reuben  Dawson,  William  P.  Boone,  T.  S.  Bell,  W.  W.  Worsley,  William  Richardson,  W.  E. 
Glover,  Bland  Ballard,  and  James  Speed. 

11  The  Examiner,  December  30,  1848.     The  address  covered  six  columns  of  the  paper. 

»  The  Examiner,  February  3.  1849.     Quoted. 

M  Georgetown  Herald,  December  30,  1848. 

«  During  the  late  fall  of  1848.  Geo.  W.  Johnson  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the  citizens 
of  Scott  County  opposing  constitutional  abolition.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the 
state.  His  main  objection  to  emancipation  was  the  problem  of  the  free  Negro.  The  Examiner, 
October  28,  1848.  Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  November  10.  1848. 

"  The  Louisville  Courier,  August  14,  1848;  Niles'  Register,  Vol.  75,  p.  125;  Wegham: 
"Anti-Slavery  Cause  in  America,"  pp.  47-51. 

•»  "Writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  75-78. 


124     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to 

adopted  resolutions  threatening  with  death  anyone  who  might 
discuss  slavery.  This  was  done  with  reference  to  Clay,  rather 
than  to  Fee.  Clay  at  once  made  an  appointment  to  speak  in  the 
court  house  at  Stanford.  Knowing  that  he  would  speak  or  die, 
a  committee  of  the  best  citizens  of  Stanford  was  sent  thirty 
miles  to  Clay's  residence  to  persuade  him  to  cancel  the  appoint 
ment.  After  patiently  listening  to  their  appeal,  he  said,  "Gen 
tlemen,  say  to  your  friends  that  I  appreciate  their  kindness  in 
sending  you  to  advise  with  me;  but,  God  willing,  I  shall  speak 
in  Stanford  on  the  day  named."  On  the  day  named  surrounded 
by  several  friends,  with  a  pistol  on  the  desk  in  front  of  him,  he 
delivered  a  long  address  without  a  single  interruption  before 
one  of  the  largest  crowds  ever  assembled  in  the  county.64  The 
result  of  this  policy  was  a  more  free  discussion  of  slavery  than 
ever  before.  Many  of  the  leading  pro-slavery  men  and  pro- 
slavery  papers  now  desired  to  have  the  question  thoroughly 
threshed  out  and  permanently  settled. 

With  the  desire  to  secure  a  full  expression  of  opinion  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  re 
quiring  the  election  officials  to  submit  to  each  voter  at  the  next 
regular  election  in  the  state  the  question:  "Are  you  in  favor  of 
the  indefinite  continuance  of  slavery,  or  of  a  system  of  gradual 
emancipation  with  a  constitutional  provision  for  the  ultimate 
removal  of  the  African  race."  Both  The  Examiner  and  the 
Louisville  Courier  strongly  advocated  a  direct  vote  on  the  ques 
tion  of  emancipation.  The  Courier  said:  "We  dare  the  enemies 
of  emancipation  to  put  this  question  to  the  people  of  Kentucky 
so  that  they  may  vote  on  that  question  alone.  "64a  The  bill 
failed  of  passage  and  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a  unani 
mous  vote  proceeded  to  adopt  the  following  expression  of  opinion : 
"Resolved  that  we,  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  Ken 
tucky,  are  opposed  to  abolition  or  emancipation  of  slavery  in  any 
form  or  shape  whatever,  except  as  now  provided  for  by  the  con 
stitution  and  laws  of  the  state."65  The  legislature  then  ordered 
the  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention.  The 
elections  were  to  be  held  in  August  and  the  convention  was  to 
assemble  the  first  Monday  in  October,  1849. 66 

No  sooner  had  the  date  of  the  election  been  set  than  both 
pro-slavery  and  anti-slavery  men  began  to  hold  meetings,  draw 

"  "Writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  Vol.  1,  p.  177f. 

"a  The  Louisville  Courier,  February  5,  1849;  The  Examiner,  February  10,  23,  1849. 

"  Journal  of  the  House,  February  3,  1849.  Louisville  Journal,  January  20,  1849; 
Niles'  Register.  Vol.  75,  p.  108.  The  Whigs  had  a  decided  majority  in  both  houses  of  the  legis 
lature. 

••  Niles'  Register,  Vol.  75,  p.  256. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    125 

up  resolutions  and  nominate  candidates.  As  early  as  February, 
a  call,  signed  by  270  citizens  of  Mason  County,  was  issued  for  a 
pro-slavery  convention  to  "oppose  meddling  with  the  slavery 
question."67  A  similar  meeting  was  held  in  Woodford  county 
about  the  same  time.68  The  emancipationists  were  equally 
active.  Early  in  February,  523  citizens  of  Mason  county  signed 
a  call  for  an  emancipation  convention  to  be  held  at  Maysville 
on  February  the  12th.  The  meeting  was  unusually  well  attend 
ed  and  among  those  present  were  many  of  the  oldest  and  most 
prominent  men  in  the  county.  Resolutions  were  adopted  ex 
pressive  of  the  opinion  "that  a  gradual  and  prospective  system 
of  emancipation  accompanied  by  colonization  should  be  adopted 
by  our  state,"  and  that  the  meeting  regarded  such  a  "project  as 
practical,  politic  and  humane  and  earnestly  desire  to  see  it  ac 
complished."  The  members  pledged  themselves  not  to  support 
any  man  for  the  convention  who  would  not  pledge  himself  to  the 
principle  set  forth  in  the  resolution  adopted  in  the  meeting.69 
Of  even  more  importance  was  an  emancipation  meeting  held  at 
Louisville,  February  1 .  After  approving  emancipation  through  a 
change  in  the  constitution  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft 
resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting  which  should  be 
considered  at  a  second  meeting  to  be  held  at  Louisville,  February 
12,  and  which  upon  approval  should  be  issued  as  a  public  address 
to  the  people  of  Kentucky.70  At  the  meeting  on  the  12th  a 
series  of  five  resolutions  endorsing  emancipation  as  reported  by  the 
committee  was  adopted  and  a  long  address  was  issued  to  the  friends 
of  emancipation  throughout  the  state  urging  them  to  send  dele 
gates  to  a  state  convention  to  be  held  at  Frankfort,  April  25, 
for  the  purpose  of  uniting  on  some  plan  of  emancipation  and 
perfecting  a  state  organization  to  secure  the  election  of  delegates 
favoring  emancipation  to  the  constitutional  convention.71 
Anti-slavery  workers  were  warned  against  making  radical  utter 
ances. 72  William  L.  Breckinridge  in  an  able  address  urged  the 
centering  of  all  attention  upon  emancipation  and  emancipation 


«  Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  February  16,  1849. 

••  The  Examiner,  February  17,  1849;  Niles'  Register,  Vol.  75,  p.  256. 

••  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  March  1,  1849;  The  Examiner,  February  24,  1849.  Among 
the  signers  of  the  resolution  were  Henry  Waller,  Gen.  Richard  Collins,  F.  T.  Hord,  Hon.  John 
Chambers,  Edward  L.  Bullock,  Adam  Beatty,  E.  C.  Phister,  Granville  Young,  John  C.  McClung. 

70  The  Louisville  Journal,  February  2,  1849.  W  W.  Worsley  presided  over  the  meeting. 
The  committee  was  composed  of  James  Speed,  Bland  Ballard,  Robert  Dawson,  Thomas  H. 
Shreve.  W.  E.  Glover,  and  William  L.  Breckinridge. 

"The  Examiner,  February  17,  1849;  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  February  15,  1849. 
in  speaking  of  this  meeting  said:  "The  greatest  harmony  prevailed  and  it  is  but  seldom  that 
the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  as  large  and  as  enthusiastic  is  conducted  with  so  much  decorum." 
See  also  Niles'  Register,  Vol.  75,  p.  256.  Both  the  address  and  the  resolutions  are  quoted  in 
The  Presbyterian  Herald  for  March  1,  1849. 

"  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  March  1,  1849. 


126     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

was  to  be  accompanied  always  by  some  plan  of  colonization.73 
He  asserted  that  the  main  reasons  for  the  defeat  of  emancipation 
in  the  constitutional  convention  of  1799  were  the  radical  utter 
ances  and  the  radical  plans  of  many  of  the  emancipationists.74 

The  emancipation  cause  received  a  powerful  impetus  about 
this  time  as  a  result  of  a  letter  written  by  Henry  Clay  from  New 
Orleans,  February  17,  to  Richard  Pindell,  of  Kentucky,  in  which 
he  recommended  that  measures  be  taken  for  the  extermination 
of  slavery  by  the  adoption  of  some  plan  for  gradual  emancipa 
tion  in  the  coming  constitutional  convention.  The  letter  was 
written  for  publication  and  was  an  answer  to  a  request  from  Pin- 
dell  and  certain  of  his  friends  for  an  expression  of  opinion  on 
emancipation. 

After  stating  his  belief  in  emancipation,  Clay  said  that  three 
principles  should  regulate  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  grad 
ual  emancipation:  First,  that  it  should  be  slow  in  its  operation, 
cautious  and  gradual  so  as  to  occasion  no  convulsion  or  rash  or 
sudden  disturbance  in  the  existing  habits  of  society;  second,  that, 
as  an  indispensable  condition,  the  emancipated  slaves  should  be 
removed  from  the  state  to  some  colony;  and  third,  that  the  ex 
penses  of  their  transportation  to  this  colony,  including  an  outfit 
for  six  months  after  their  arrival,  should  be  defrayed  by  a  fund 
to  be  secured  from  the  labor  of  each  freed  slave.  He  believed 
that  any  change  in  the  condition  of  society  should  be  marked 
with  extreme  care  and  circumspection.  Consequently,  any  plan 
for  emancipation  that  he  might  favor  would  necessarily  be  con 
servative.  He  believed  that  all  slaves  born  after  a  certain  peri 
od  should  be  free  at  a  specified  age,  and  that  all  born  before 
should  remain  slaves  for  life.  That  period,  he  believed,  should 
be  1855  or  even  1860.  All  slaves  born  after  the  date  decided 
upon  should  be  free  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  but  should  be 
liable  to  be  hired  out,  under  the  authority  of  the  state,  for  a  term 
not  exceeding  three  years  in  order  to  raise  a  sum  sufficient  to 
pay  the  expense  of  their  transportation  and  an  outfit  for  six 
months  following  their  arrival  at  the  colony.  The  offspring  of 
this  class  were  to  be  free  at  birth,  but  were  to  be  apprenticed  out 
until  they  were  twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  they  were  liable 
to  be  hired  out  for  three  years  to  secure  money  to  meet  the  ex 
penses  of  their  transportation.  He  regarded  the  colonization  of 
the  freed  men  as  indispensable  to  any  scheme  of  emancipation. 


Breckinridge  Papers,  W.  L.  Breckinridge  to  R.  J.  Breckinridge,  February  12,  1849. 
Ibid. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    127 

'The  color,  passions  and  prejudices,"  he  said,  would  forever  pre 
vent  the  two  races  from  living  together  in  a  state  of  cordial 
union.  Social,  moral  and  political  degradation  would  be  the 
inevitable  lot  of  the  colored  race."  Clay  could  see  no  reason 
why  the  freed  slaves  could  not  be  successfully  transported  to 
some  colony  without  any  great  economic  loss  to  the  state.  In 
fact,  he  maintained  that  the  enhanced  value  of  their  lands  and 
the  benefits  derived  from  free  labor  would  more  than  compen 
sate  the  state  for  any  losses  which  might  be  incurred.  In  speak 
ing  of  the  political  effects  of  emancipation  in  Kentucky  he  said : 
"It  may  be  urged  that  we  ought  not,  by  the  gradual  abolition 
of  slavery,  to  separate  ourselves  from  the  other  slave  states,  but 
to  continue  to  share  with  them  in  all  their  future  fortunes.*  *  *The 
government  of  each  slave  state  is  bound,  by  the  highest  and  most 
solemn  obligations,  to  dispose  of  the  question  of  slavery,  so  as 
best  to  promote  the  peace,  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  people 
of  the  state.  Kentucky  being  essentially  a  farming  state,  slave 
labor  is  less  profitable  than  in  other  states.  If  in  most  of  the 
other  slave  states  they  find  that  labor  more  profitable,  in  the 
culture  of  the  staples  of  cotton  and  sugar,  they  may  perceive  a 
reason  in  that  feeling  for  continuing  slavery,  which  it  cannot  be 
expected  should  control  the  judgment  of  Kentucky,  as  to  what 
may  be  fitting  and  proper  for  her  interest."  In  conclusion  he 
said  "Kentucky  enjoys  high  respect  and  honorable  consideration 
throughout  the  Union  and  throughout  the  civilized  world ;  but, 
in  my  humble  opinion,  no  title  which  she  has  to  the  esteem  and 
admiration  of  mankind,  no  deeds  of  her  former  glory,  would 
equal,  in  greatness  and  grandeur,  that  of  being  the  pioneer  state 
in  removing  from  her  soil  every  trace  of  human  slavery,  and  in 
establishing  the  descendants  of  Africa  within  her  jurisdiction 
in  the  native  land  of  their  forefathers."75 

The  southern  papers  were  particularly  bitter  in  their  de 
nunciation.  The  Richmond  Inquirer  (Virginia)  said:  "Henry 
Clay's  true  character  now  stands  revealed.  The  man  is  an  abol 
itionist.  He  takes  his  position  with  Giddings  and  Hale.  Those 
are  the  sentiments  long  ago  expressed  by  all  the  organs  of  aboli 
tion.  That  is  the  spirit  which  breathes  in  all  their  writings  and 
speakings.  And  the  letter  has  been  received  with  rapturous 
applause  by  all  the  abolitionist  newspapers  and  by  all  the  abol 
itionist  people  in  the  United  States."76  The  Augusta  Banner, 

11  The  Examiner,  March  10,  1849;  Cincinnati  Chronicle,  March  6,  1849. 
"  The  Liberator,  May  4,  1849.     Quoted. 


128     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

even  more  antagonistic,  said,  "Of  course,  then  his  doctrines,  if 
carried  out,  would  lead  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  every  state 
in  which  it  now  exists.  We  differ  in  opinion  from  Mr.  Clay. 
Slavery  is  a  blessing  rather  than  an  evil.*  *  *The  doctrine  is  gener 
ally  entertained  at  the  South  as  well  as  at  the  North,  that  any 
state  has  the  right  to  abolish  slavery.  We  do  not  concur  in  this 
opinion,  however  popular  or  general  it  may  be  We  think  that 
even  Mr.  Clay's  great  influence  will  fail  to  make  Kentucky  adopt 
his  plan,  however  plausibly  cautious  it  may  be.*  *  *  If  Kentucky 
should  take  measures  to  place  herself  in  a  position  hostile  to  the 
institutions  of  the  other  Southern  States,  it  will  devolve  upon  them 
to  devise  the  most  proper  means  for  self -protection."77  The 
New  Orleans  Crescent  said:  "That  slavery  will  be  abolished  in 
Kentucky  by  the  coming  convention  there  is  now  no  doubt.  All 
the  leading  men  in  the  state  are  in  favor  of  it ;  it  is  for  the  obvious 
interests  of  the  state  to  substitute  free  for  slave  labor ;  the  scheme 
may  be  carried  out  without  much  if  any  loss,  and  with  a  show  of 
liberality  which  will  gain  the  praise  of  magnanimity  from  the 
unthinking.  If  Kentucky  will  abolish  slavery  she  should  take 
all  the  responsibilities  for  the  act — if  she  will  join  the  Northern 
allies  let  her  do  so  at  her  own  risk — if  she  be  anxious  no  longer 
to  make  common  cause  with  the  south,  she  has  a  right  to  go  over, 
but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  other  Southern  States  should  build 
a  bridge  to  facilitate  her  passage."78 

In  the  North  the  Modern  Abolitionists,  of  whom  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  was  the  chief  representative,  also  condemned 
Clay's  program  as  only  a  half-way  measure,  but  its  moderation 
secured  the  approval  of  many  anti-slavery  workers. 

In  Kentucky  Clay's  letter  secured  by  no  means  uniform 
approval.  In  the  county  of  Trimble,  a  people's  meeting  adopted 
a  series  of  resolutions  offered  by  John  Robert,  a  Whig,  requesting 
Henry  Clay  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  in 
consequence  of  the  sentiments  expressed  in  his  letter  to  Richard 
Pindell  on  the  subject  of  slavery.79  Nor  was  Clay  unprepared 
for  this  condemnation.  In  a  letter  to  his  son  James,  March  3, 
1849,  he  said,  "As  you  were  absent  I  sent  to  Richard  Pindell  a 
letter  on  the  Emancipation  Question.  As  I  regret  to  hear  that 
it  was  not  popular,  I  suppose  that  my  letter  will  bring  on  me 

»  The  Liberator,  July  27,  1849.  Quoted. 
T«  The  Examiner,  April  7,  1849.  Quoted. 
"  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  75,  pp.  185,  384. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  'Convention  1849    129 

some  odium.  I  nevertheless  wish  it  published.  I  owe  that  to 
the  cause,  and  to  myself,  and  to  posterity."80 

The  Pindell  letter  was  reprinted  in  all  sections  of  the  country 
by  newspapers  of  every  class,  and  the  editors  generally,  whether 
they  approved  it  or  not,  agreed  in  considering  it  a  document  of 
great  importance,  destined  to  wield  a  vast  influence.  In  Ken 
tucky,  as  in  the  country  as  a  whole,  Clay's  influence  was  very 
great,  and  consequently  his  support  of  emancipation  at  least 
greatly  encouraged  and  emboldened  the  anti-slavery  workers 
and  helped  to  ensure  a  free  discussion  of  the  subject.81 

In  the  slavery  controversy  in  Kentucky,  two  main  issues 
appear — the  interest  of  Kentucky,  as  Clay  and  others  represented 
it,  as  being  hostile  to  slavery,  on  the  one  hand ;  and  on  the  other, 
the  reluctance  to  desert  the  South,  a  feeling  based  partly  on 
political  sympathy  and  partly,  perhaps,  on  a  fear  of  economic 
retaliation.  This  conflict  appears  in  the  campaign  elections 
preparatory  to  the  constitutional  convention. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  state  convention  was  proposed  for 
the  purpose  of  furthering  emancipation  and  that  it  was  to  meet 
at  Frankfort  on  the  25th  of  April.  In  March  a  mass  meeting 
of  emancipationists  was  held  in  Danville,  and  delegates  were 
elected  to  this  convention.  The  meeting  was  a  large  and  en 
thusiastic  one  with  at  least  500  men,  one-half  of  whom  were 
slaveholders,  present. 8  2  A  similar  meeting  was  held  at  Frankfort 
in  the  same  month,  when  50  delegates  were  elected  to  the  con 
vention.83  A  meeting  of  citizens  of  Lexington  and  Fayette 
county  "opposed  to  the  perpetuation  of  slavery,"  was  held 
in  April.84  The  object  of  the  meeting  was  explained  by  Henry 
Clay  in  a  long  address.  On  motion  of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge, 
it  was  resolved  that  slavery  was  contrary  to  the  rights  of  man 
kind,  opposed  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  free  government, 
inconsistent  with  a  state  of  sound  morality,  hostile  to  the  pros- 

•°  Clay's  Private  Correspondence,  p.  585. 

81  About  this  time  the  Presbyterian  Herald,  as  well  as  other  papers,  came  out  in  support 
of  emancipation.  On  March  1  it  said:  "We  are  equally  well  convinced  that  slavery  is  an 
incubus  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  state  in  all  its  interests.  Its  climate,  its  soil,  its  geographi 
cal  position  surrounded  as  it  is  by  a  cordon  of  free  states,  which  are  outstripping  it  in  population, 
wealth  and  enterprise,  all  proclaim  that  it  must  eventually  become  a  free  state."  (The  Presby 
terian  Herald,  March  1,  1849.)  William  L.  Breckinridge,  who  was  associated  with  this  paper, 
and  who  was  a  large  slaveowner  himself,  wrote  many  articles  advocating  emancipation,  which 
appeared  in  a  number  of  papers  throughout  the  state.  In  these  he  proposed  the  absolute 
prohibition  of  the  importation  of  slaves,  the  freeing  of  all  slaves  born  after  a  fixed  date  upon 
their  reaching  the  age  of  twenty-five  and  lastly  the  holding  of  all  slaves  upon  receiving  their 
freedom  under  the  control  of  the  state  and  the  hiring  them  out  until  enough  money  was  secured 
to  pay  for  their  transportation  to  Africa.  (The  Examiner,  March  3;  April  7,  16,  1849.  See 
also  The  Paris  Citizen,  February  28,  1849.) 

««  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  March  15,  1849;  The  Examiner,  March  31,  1849. 

"  The  Examiner,  March  31,  1849.  Dr.  W.  A.  McDowell  acted  as  presiding  officer  of 
the  meeting. 

14  The  Lexington  Atlas,  April  17,  1849.  Edward  Oldham  acted  as  president  of  the 
meeting  and  W.  A.  Dudley  as  secretary. 


130     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

parity  of  the  Commonwealth  and  that  in  the  forthcoming 
constitutional  convention  steps  should  be  taken  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  slaves,  "in  such  way  as  shall  be  found  prac 
ticable  in  itself,  just  as  regards  the  masters  of  slaves,  and  bene 
ficial  to  the  slaves  themselves."85  Thirty  men  were  named  as 
delegates  to  the  Frankfort  Convention.86  Similar  conventions 
were  held  in  many  of  the  counties  of  the  state  and  delegates 
were  elected.87  Candidates  were  also  nominated  or  endorsed 
for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention 
in  October. 

The  Frankfort  convention  assembled  at  the  appointed 
time  with  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  delegates  from  24 
different  counties  present. 8  8  Among  the  delegates  were  Henry 
Clay,  -from  Bourbon  County;  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  from 
Fayette  county;  J.  G.  Fee,  from  Lewis  County;  Cassius  M. 
Clay,  from  Madison  county;  and  Senator  J.  R.  Underwood, 
from  Spencer  county.89  Both  political  parties  and  all  classes 
of  the  population  were  represented.  A  majority  of  the  dele 
gates  were  slaveholders,  who  owned  in  all  about  3,000  slaves.90 
The  Frankfort  Commonwealth,  an  opponent  of  emancipation, 
said  of  the  convention :  "It  is  perhaps  the  first  general  convention 
of  the  citizens  of  Kentucky  favorable  to  the  organization  of 
an  emancipation  party,  ever  held  in  the  state,  and  a  regard  for 
truth  compels  us  to  say  that  we  have  never  seen,  on  any  oc 
casion,  here  or  elsewhere,  a  more  intelligent  and  respectable 
body  of  men."91  Twenty-one,  or  nearly  one-seventh  of  the 
total  membership  of  the  convention,  were  ministers.92 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  by  J.  R.  Thornton,  of 
Bourbon  county,  after  which  Henry  Clay  was  elected  Presi- 

«  The  Lexington  Atlas,  April  17,  1849.  See  also  The  Examiner  April  14,  1849;  The 
Presbyterian  Herald,  April  19,  1849. 

"  The  Lexington  Atlas,  April  17,  1849.  The  delegates  were  Edward  Oldham,  Samuel 
Shy,  M.  C.  Johnson,  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  H.  P.  Lewis,  A.  Vanmeter,  C.  H.  Barkley,  John 
A.  Hull,  John  Hurd,  E.  C.  Dudley,  George  R.  Trotter,  William  Rhodes,  James  Turner,  W.  Pullen, 
John  W.  Clark,  Carter  R.  Harrison,  O.  D.  Winn,  George  W.  Sutton,  O.  D.  McCullough,  John 
T.  Bruce,  J.  J.  Hunter,  William  K.  Wallace,  Richard  Pindell,  James  Ashton,  George  P.  Jouett , 
Matthew  T.  Scott,  T.  Dolan,  B.  Keer. 

"  The  Examiner,  April  7,  1849,  stated  that  the  following  counties  had  elected  dele 
gates  to  the  Frankfort  Convertion:  Boone,  Bourbon,  Boyle,  Barren,  Fayette,  Jefferson,  Lin 
coln,  Logan,  Lewis,  Mecklenburg,  Muhlenberg,  Madison,  Mason,  McCracken,  Mercer,  Nelson, 
Oldham,  Scott,  Shelby,  Warren,  and  Woodford.  For  details  of  the  various  meetings,  see 
The  Examiner,  April  7,  14,  18,  21,  28,  1849. 

88  The  Examiner,  April  28;  May  5,  1849.  The  latest  number  gives  the  number  of 
representativesfromthedifferentcountiesasfollows:  Barren,  1;  Bath,  1;  Boone,  6;  Bourbon,  14; 
Boyle,  8;  Fayette,  19;  Franklin,  19;  Garrard,  2;  Henry,  5;  Jefferson,  6;  Kenton,  1;  Lewis,  2; 
Lincoln,  1;  Louisville,  22;  Madison,  3;  Mercer,  6;  Nelson,  5;  Nicholas,  3;  Oldham,  3;  Owen,  1; 
Pulaski,  2;  Scott,  5,  Shelby,  17;  Spencer,  4;  Warren,  1. 

••  The  Examiner,  April  25;  May  5,  1849.  T.  F.  Marshall,  Adam  Beatty,  S.  S.  Nicholas, 
W.  L.  Breckinridge  and  J.  A.  McClung  were  in  attendance. 

••  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  May  5,  1849. 

•»  Ibid.  Quoted.  Thirteen  of  the  ministers  were  Presbyterians,  six  Methodists,  one 
Baptist,  one  Unitarian,  and  one  Campbellite. 

91  Ibid.  There  was  also  considerable  talk  of  holding  a  meeting  of  the  ministers  of  the 
state  who  favored  emancipation.  See  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1849. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    131 

dent,  and  Henry  Wingate,  of  Franklin,  was  made  vice-president.  °  3 
Although  harmony  and  enthusiasm  prevailed  in  the  convention, 
the  members  could  not  agree  upon  a  plan  of  emancipation. 
Opinions  ranged  all  the  way  from  immediate  compensated 
emancipation  without  colonization  to  the  mere  colonization 
of  those  voluntarily  emancipated;  but  the  majority  of  the 
members  desired  some  plan  of  gradual  emancipation  to  be 
followed  by  colonization.94  While  the  convention  adopted 
no  scheme  of  emanciaption,  it  made  the  following  declaration 
by  a  vote  that  lacked  but  one  of  being  unanimous:  "Believing 
that  involuntary,  hereditary  slavery  as  it  exists  by  law  in  this 
state  is  injurious  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Commonwealth, 
inconsistent  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  free  government, 
contrary  to  the  natural  rights  of  mankind,  and  adverse  to  a 
pure  state  of  morals ;  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  it  ought  not  to 
be  increased,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  perpetuated  in  the 
Commonwealth."  Accordingly,  it  was  resolved  to  work  for 
the  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  who 
would  be  in  favor  of  the  absolute  prohibition  of  further  impor 
tation  of  slaves  into  Kentucky,  and  who  would  favor  a  con 
stitution  which  would  give  the  people  unlimited  authority  to 
adopt  a  system  of  gradual  emancipation.95 

After  the  convention  had  adjourned,  the  emancipation 
ists  began  at  once  to  canvass  the  state  for  the  election  of  delegates 
favorable  to  emancipation.  A  central  executive  committee,  ap 
pointed  by  the  Frankfort  convention,  had  general  control  of  the 
state  campaign,  with  Louisville  as  its  headquarters.96 

Local  emancipation  conventions  were  held  in  many  coun 
ties  in  the  state.  Most  of  these  adopted  the  ' 'Frankfort  Plat 
form,"  and  in  some  cases  nominated  candidates  for  the  constitu 
tional  convention. 9  7  There  were  differences  of  opinion  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  state  as  to  just  what  program  the  emanci 
pationists  intended  to  adopt.  In  some  cases  the  emancipation 
ists  did  not  go  beyond  the  demand  for  the  insertion  of  the  law  of 
1833  into  the  constitution.98  Many  desired  a  constitutional 

•*  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  May  3,  1849.     See  also  Miles'  Register,  Vol.  75,  p.  301. 

•4  Many  wanted  the  laws  of  1833  incorporated  into  the  constitution.  See  Breckin- 
ridge  Papers  for  1849;  W.  O.  Smith  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  April  29,  1849,  and  Garret 
Davis  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  April  27,  1849. 

»•  Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  May  11,  1849;  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  75.  p.  301. 

••  The  Examiner,  May  5,  1849.  May  12,  19,  26;  June  2,  9,  16,  23,  1849.  The  following 
were  members  of  the  committee:  Wm.  Richardson,  W.  W.  Worsley,  W.  E.  Glover,  David 
Beatty.  Bland  Ballard,  Thomas  McGrain,  Reuben  Dawson,  Patrick  Dawson,  W.  P.  Boone, 
James  Speed.  In  addition  to  the  counties  mentioned  previously  as  having  held  emancipation 
conventions  were  Wayne,  Clarke,  Crittenden,  Caldwell,  Ohio  and  Trimble. 

«  Breckinridge  Papers.  James  Matthews  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  May  30,  1849; 
Ibid.,  Frank  Ballanger  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge.  May  7,  1849. 

••  Ibid.,  Letter  from  Citizens  of  Taylorsville  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  June  8,  1849. 


132     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  16*50 

provision  for  gradual  emancipation,  while  others  wished  only  to 
give  the  legislature  power  to  provide  for  emancipation  any  time 
that  it  saw  fit  to  do  so."  This  lack  of  unity  lost  the  emanci 
pationists  hundreds  of  votes  and  may  have  been  a  determining 
factor  in  the  election. l  °  ° 

The  pro-slavery  party  generally  adopted  the  policy  of  nomi 
nating  as  delegates  to  the  convention  "their  ablest,  wisest,  and 
most  virtuous  citizens."101  This,  it  was  hoped,  would  lessen 
the  strength  of  the  emancipationists,  as  it  most  assuredly  did. 
Most  of  the  pro-slavery  candidates  took  a  mild,  conciliatory  atti 
tude  toward  slavery.102  In  a  number  of  counties  where  the 
emancipationists  were  strong,  the  pro-slavery  Whigs  and  the 
pro-slavery  Democrats  united  on  one  candidate.103  With  un 
tiring  persistence  they  approached  all  classes  and  appealed  to  all 
motives  that  promised  aid. l  °4  Especially  earnest  were  their  ap 
peals  to  the  prejudices  and  apprehensions  of  the  non-slaveholding 
whites  who  were  made  to  believe  that  "to  emancipate  the  black 
man  was  to  enslave  the  white  man."  The  arguments  which 
they  used  most  successfully  were:  (1)  that  the  emancipationists 
had  offered  no  practical  method  for  emancipating  the  slaves  or 
of  colonizing  them  once  they  had  been  freed  and  (2)  that  eman 
cipation  by  Kentucky  and  an  alliance  with  the  North,  which 
would  necessarily  follow,  would  result  in  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union. 

Both  United  States  senators  from  Kentucky,  Henry  Clay 
and  J.  R.  Underwood,  as  well  as  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  Cassius 
M.  Clay,  T.  F.  Marshall,  T.  J.  Boyle  and  others,  stumped  the 
state  for  emancipation.  There  was  a  great  demand  for  speeches 
by  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  a  man  of  high  standing  and  of  great 
ability  as  a  speaker,  whose  numerous  writings  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  had  attracted  wide  attention.105  During  the  month 
of  June,  1849,  he  published  a  "Platform  of  Emancipation,"  of 
which  hundreds  of  copies  were  distributed  throughout  the 
state.106  In  part  it  was  as  follows:  "The  people  of  Kentucky 

89  Breckinridge  Papers,  Geo.  Blakey  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  July  10,  1849.  The 
Examiner,  July  21,  1849. 

100  The  American  Citizen,  April  7,  1849. 

101  The  Louisville  Journal,  January  23,  1849. 

i°'  Breckinridge  Papers,  W.  O.  Smith  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  April  7,  1849;  The 
American  Citizen,  April  27,  1849. 

103  Breckinridge  Papers,  Citizens  of  Taylorsville  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  June  8,  1849. 
The  Examiner,  March  31,  1849. 

i°<  The  Examiner,  August  4,  11,  1848;  July  7,  14;  August  18,  1849. 

106  Breckinridge  Papers,  Letters  to  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  from  George  Blakey,  July 
10;  A.  F.  Scott,  July  23;  R.  C.  Grundy,  May  19;  William  Garnett,  May  22;  A.  M.  Brown,  May 
21;  Six  Citizens  of  Clark  county,  May  28;  James  Matthews,  May  30;  W.  O.  Mills,  May  30; 
E.  Stevenson,  May  31 ;  William  Hewett,  May  8;  B.  Mills,  May  11. 

106  Lexington  Observer  and  Reporter,  June  30,  July  4,  1849.  The  original  manuscript 
is  in  the  Breckinridge  Papers. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    133 

ought  by  means  of  that  convention:  1.  Absolutely  to  prohibit 
the  importation  of  any  more  slaves  into  the  state:  And  through 
it  retain  in  their  own  hands  the  complete  power,  now  held  by 
the  call  of  that  convention,  to  enforce  and  perfect,  in  or  under 
the  new  constitution,  a  system  of  emancipation,  And  still  further, 
this  power  of  emancipation,  thus  retained,  should  be  so  guarded 
in  the  constitution  itself  that  it  will  be  exercised,  (a)  only  prospec- 
tively,  (b)  only  gradually,  (c)  only  in  connection  with  the  removal 
from  the  state  of  the  emancipated  slaves,  and  finally  this  power 
of  emancipation,  and  all  exercise  of  it,  should  be,  not  of  ordinary 
legislation,  but  of  the  community  itself,  by  an  expression  of  its 
sovereign  will:  (1)  Either  by  means  of  a  provision  in  the  consti 
tution  allowing  specific  amendments,  if  such  a  clause  should  be 
inserted  according  to  the  original  plan  of  the  Convention  party ;  (2) 
or,  under  the  Constitution,  by  means  of  an  express  provision  in 
it,  allowing  the  sense  of  the  people  to  be  taken  on  the  question, 
if  the  new  constitution  should  be  procured  without  what  is 
called  the  open  clause."108  Breckinridge  regarded  this  plan  as 
a  reasonable  concession  to  the  pro-slavery  party,  especially  since 
the  slaveholders  of  the  state  were  outnumbered  nearly  ten  to 
one  and  were  divided  among  themselves,  the  most  prominent 
leaders  of  the  emancipation  movement  being  slaveholders.109 

There  was  also  a  great  demand  for  speeches  from  Cassius 
M.  Clay.  He  made  a  special  effort  to  reach  the  non-slave 
holders.  In  his  address  before  the  (Frankfort)  convention  he 
said:  "For  myself  I  am  in  favor  of  agitating  this  question.  **  *We 
must  convince  the  people — the  real  people — of  its  importance, 
before  it  can  be  done.  How  can  we  get  at  the  non-slaveholders 
but  by  agitation?  The  newspapers,  as  a  general  thing,  do  not 
reach  the  non-slaveholders.  We  must  seek  them  out  at  the 
cross  roads  and  places  of  public  resort  in  their  neighborhoods. 
The  newspapers  are  already  open.  But  we  want  something  more 
than  the  press.  We  want  men  on  the  stump.  We  want  to  get 
at  the  ear  of  the  people."1 1 1  Clay  had  great  personal  magnet 
ism,  which  drew  many  people  to  him,  but  he  also  had  a  stinging 
tongue  which  made  many  enemies  for  himself  and  for  his  cause. l 1 2 


">«  Breckinridge  Papers  for  1849. 

109  "Writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  pp.  183,  186,  175ff.     Spencer  County  Journal,  April 
16,  1849.     The  Examiner,  June  9,  1849. 

»»  " Writings  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,"  pp.  183,  186,  175ff. 

112  Ibid.,  pp.  186,  211.     The  Examiner,  June  23,  1849. 

Upon  one  occasion  while  he  was  speaking  before  a  large  audience,  one  of  his  enemies 
took  offense  at  some  of  his  remarks  and  called  Clay  a  liar,  whereupon  a  fight  ensued  in  the 
assembly  room,  in  which  Turner,  his  opponent,  was  killed  and  Clay  was  seriously  injured. 
Turner  was  clearly  the  aggressor  and  consequently  Clay  was  never  even  indicted  for  the  offense. 


134     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

The  campaign,  as  a  whole,  although  bitter,  was  compara 
tively  free  from  acts  of  violence.  In  many  instances  the  oppos 
ing  candidates  engaged  in  public  debate,  often  on  the  "Frank 
fort  Platform."  In  these  debates  the  pro-slavery  leaders  were 
usually  the  aggressors,  although  the  emancipationists  made  it  a 
policy  never  to  refuse  a  challenge  to  meet  publicly  an  opponent 
in  debate. 113  In  speaking  of  the  sections  of  the  state  where  the 
emancipationists  were  strong  The  Examiner  said:  "In  those 
counties  in  which  the  proportion  of  slaves  is  largest — for  instance, 
in  Jefferson,  Fayette  and  Bourbon — notwithstanding  the  sup 
posed  large  pecuniary  interests  of  the  people  in  slaves,  the  hos 
tility  to  slavery  is  most  efficient." 1 1 4  This  was  one  of  the  pecu 
liarities  of  the  anti-slavery  movement  in  Kentucky,  not  only  at 
this  time  but  during  the  entire  history  of  the  state. 

The  hopes  of  the  emancipationists  were  far  from  being  re 
alized  in  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  conven 
tion.  In  the  twenty-nine  counties  where  emancipationists  had 
made  nominations,  they  were  unable  to  elect  a  single  candidate, 
although  they  polled  about  10,000  votes.115  In  commenting 
upon  this  vote,  The  Examiner  said  that  according  to  this  pro 
portion  the  emancipationists  could  poll  in  the  one  hundred  coun 
ties  of  the  state  about  30,000  votes.  It  expressed  the  belief  also 
that  "thousands  of  the  friends  of  emancipation  in  Kentucky 
were  deterred  from  voting  by  various  reasons,"116  but  no  spe 
cific  instances  of  intimidation  or  violence  were  given . 

Several  influences  contributed  to  reduce  the  number  of 
emancipation  votes.  Many  opponents  of  slavery  thought  that 
no  feasible  plan  of  emancipation  and  colonization  had  been  pro 
posed  or  that  the  time  for  emancipation  was  not  ripe.  Others 
believed  that  in  the  bitter  sectional  struggle  between  the  slave 
and  the  free  states  it  was  the  duty  of  .Kentucky  to  stand  by  the 
South.  Furthermore,  the  majority  of  the  non-slaveholders  in 
the  state  had  not  been  reached  by  the  emancipation  appeals  and 
contrary  to  their  own  interests  adhered  to  the  conservative 
party.  On  account  of  the  strong  emancipation  feeling,  the  pro- 
slavery  leaders  adopted  a  conciliatory  attitude  and  nominated 
candidates  who  were  known  to  be  men  broad  in  their  opinions 
and  highly  esteemed  in  their  communities.  This  fact  in  part 
accounted  for  the  lack  of  emancipation  candidates  in  nearly 

»«  Breckinridge  Papers,  Presbyterian  Herald,  May  28,  1849. 

"«  The  Examiner,  June  16,  1849;  Anti-Slavery  Bugle,  July  28,  1849. 

»•  The  Examiner,  September  8,  15,  1849;  The  Presbyterian  Herald,  September  20,  1849. 

"•  The  Examiner,  September  IS,  1849. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    135 

three-fourths  of  the  counties.  Both  the  Whig  and  the  Demo 
cratic  parties  were  so  opposed  to  emancipation  that,  in  those 
counties  where  the  emancipationists  were  strongest,  they  laid 
aside  their  political  differences  and  united  on  a  single  candidate 
to  the  constitutional  convention.  Still  another  reason  for  the 
small  number  of  emancipation  votes  was  the  fact  that  the  eman 
cipation  candidates  represented  only  one  issue  while  their  oppon 
ents  stood  for  several  of  the  issues  involved  in  the  coming  con 
vention,  thus  appealing  to  a  wide  constituency. 

Notwithstanding  the  failure  to  elect  emancipationists  as 
delegates,  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  members  of  the  convention  in  slavery  and  emancipation.  In 
the  reports  of  the  convention  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  space  is 
devoted  to  the  debates  on  slavery,  far  more  than  was  alloted  to 
any  other  subject.  If  we  may  judge  from  the  reports  of  the  press 
and  the  frequent  complaints  of  the  members  on  the  floor,  the 
discussions  of  slavery  had  become  a  burden  to  the  convention. 
The  Frankfort  correspondent  of  the  Louisville  Journal  said: 
"The  slavery  question  in  the  constitutional  Convention  has  been 
discussed  to  death.  The  mind  of  the  delegates  is  made  up  and 
cannot  be  changed,  and  when  a  delegate  gets  the  floor  and  pro 
ceeds  to  make  a  speech  upon  it,  as  he  cannot  be  stopped,  all  that 
the  others  can  do  is  to  kill  the  time  as  well  as  they  can  until  he 
sits  down."117 

Although  much  time  was  given  to  the  discussion  of  slavery 
it  was  evident  that  the  convention  was  in  the  hands  of  pro- 
slavery  men  and  that  the  institution  was  not  in  danger.  A  dele 
gate  from  Fleming  county  said :  "What  is  the  history  of  this  con 
vention  since  it  assembled  here?  We  are  asked  for  the  incorpo 
ration  of  the  law  of  1833  into  the  constitution.  We  are  told 
that  it  conflicts  with  the  interests  of  the  slaveholder — that  it  is 
the  first  step  toward  emancipation;  that,  therefore,  it  must  be 
sacrificed.  The  ballot  system  of  voting  is  called  for.  Again  we 
are  told  that  it  will  prove  injurious  to  the  slave  interests.  The 
specific  mode  of  amending  the  constitution,  which  the  spirit  of 
the  nineteenth  century  evidently  calls  for,  is  suggested.  Still 
the  cry  is  that  slave  property  is  endangered  by  it.  Driven  in  at 
all  points,  we  ask  that  representation  shall  be  equal  and  uniform 
throughout  the  Commonwealth.  Even  at  this  point  they  meet 
us  and  say  that  we  must  yield.  They  tell  us  that  the  dearest 

>»  "Debates  in  the  Kentucky  Convention,  1849,"  p.  485.  See  also  the  Presbyterian 
Herald,  November  1,  1849. 


136     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

right  of  Kentucky  freemen  must  yield  to  the  slave,  that  the  time 
has  arrived  when  one  section  of  the  state  must  be  deprived  of 
representation,  must  be  disfranchised,  to  protect  the  interest  of 
another.  Where  is  this  matter  to  stop?  How  far  shall  the  ideal 
interests  of  one  section  of  the  state  control  the  absolute  rights 
of  another?  Are  110,000  non-slaveholder  voters  to  be  disfran 
chised  for  fear  they  will  emancipate  the  slaves?  I  stand  here 
the  warm  advocate  of  the  rights  of  the  people.*  *  *  The  people  of 
northern  Kentucky  are  as  conservative  upon  the  question  of 
slavery  as  any  other  section  of  the  state.  Look  at  the  Northern 
Counties  and  Cities  and  tell  me  what  indications  of  radicalism  the 
late  election  has  shown.*  *  *  I  came  not  from  the  region  of  the  shut 
tle  and  spindle  on  the  one  hand,  nor  do  I  represent  the  Blue- 
grass  on  the  other,  but  I  came  as  the  representative  of  the  free 
constituency  of  Fleming  and  I  feel  called  upon  by  that  constitu 
ency  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  people  at  large." 1 1 8  This  was 
further  emphasized  by  a  Mr.  Dixon,  of  Henderson  County,  in  one  of 
the  discussions  when  he  said:  "Beware,  how  you  trample  on  the 
rights  of  the  non-slaveholding  community.  I  have  the  utmost 
confidence  in  that  community,  and  I  take  leave  to  say,  were  it 
not  for  their  forbearance,  their  high  sense  of  justice,  and  their 
noble  and  elevated  attachment  to  principle,  the  institution  would 
have  been  very  greatly  endangered.  They  know  that  you  are 
entitled  to  the  property  that  you  have  inherited  and  purchased, 
and  they  fully  recognize  the  great  principle  in  our  constitution, 
that  no  man's  property  shall  be  taken  without  a  full  and  fair 
compensation.  *  *  *  I  believe  that  there  is  not  a  single  emancipa 
tionist  returned  here  to  proclaim  the  wishes  of  that  portion  of 
our  people  who  believe  in  the  propriety  of  emancipating  the  ne 
groes  with  compensation."119  The  contention  of  Dixon  is  well 
supported  by  contemporary  evidence  as  well  as  by  the  consti 
tution  itself. 

M.  P.  Marshall,  of  Fleming  County,  a  man  of  wide  influence 
and  a  large  slaveholder,  said  in  the  convention:  "There  are  not 
a  dozen  balanced  minds  in  this  house  that  believe  slavery  to  be 
a  blessing.  With  few  exceptions,  you  believe  it  to  be  a  social 
and  political  evil.  Few  of  you,  indeed,  under  the  broad  light 
which  experience  has  thrown  on  the  subject,  were  the  question 

»•  "Debates  in  the  Kentucky   Convention,  1849,"  p.  485.     Speech  of  Mr.  Garfield,  of 
Fleming  County.     He  was  a  New  Englander  by  birth  and  education. 
»•  "Debates  in  the  Kentucky  Convention,  1849,"  p.  564. 


Failure  of  Emancipation — Constitutional  Convention  1849    137 

of  the  introduction  of  slavery  now  open,  few  of  you  indeed,  I  am 
persuaded,  would  impose  it  upon  Kentucky."120 

Page  after  page  attests  that  these  sentiments  were  quite 
generally  shared  by  the  delegates.  A  few,  indeed,  argued  for 
the  institution  as  right  and  just,  but  the  majority  saw  in  it  much 
to  condemn,  although  they  were  not  yet  ready  for  emancipation. 

The  work  of  the  convention  was  finished  in  December,  1849, 
and  in  May  of  the  following  year  the  new  constitution  was  rati 
fied  by  a  popular  majority  of  51,351,  in  a  total  vote  of  91,955. 
June  3  the  convention  again  assembled  and  adopted  several 
amendments.  The  third  constitution  of  Kentucky  was  then 
proclaimed  and  the  convention  permanently  adjourned.121 

The  new  constitution  in  addition  to  retaining  most  of  the 
provisions  in  the  slave  clause  of  the  old  constitution  provided 
that  "no  slave  shall  be  emancipated  but  upon  condition  that 
such  emancipated  slave  be  sent  out  of  the  state."122  Another 
clause  forbade  free  Negroes  to  emigrate  to  the  state  and  another 
inserted  in  the  bill  of  rights  gave  further  emphasis  to  the  argu 
ment  which  had  proved  so  powerful  in  the  convention  campaign, 
namely,  that  "the  right  of  property  is  before  and  higher  than  any 
constitutional  sanction;  and  the  right  of  the  owner  of  a  slave, 
and  its  increase,  is  the  same  and  is  as  inviolable  as  the  right  of 
the  owner  to  any  property  whatever." 1 2 3  Thus  the  convention 
itself  not  only  failed  to  adopt  any  plan  of  gradual  emancipation, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  the  new  constitution  asserted,  in  the  strong 
est  terms,  the  right  of  property  in  slaves  and  their  increase. 

The  Examiner  in  reviewing  the  campaign  and  the  work  of 
the  convention  said:  "Of  the  ultimate  success  of  the  cause  of 
emancipation  in  Kentucky,  we  have  never  for  a  moment,  doubt 
ed.  The  friends  of  the  cause,  during  the  past  few  months,  have 
had  much  occasion  for  anxiety,  but  none  for  despondency,  and 
though  at  present  success  has  been  denied,  the  certainty  of  final 
success  was  never  clearer  than  now.  The  star  of  hope  shines 
in  the  heaven  with  undimmed  lustre.  The  subject  has  been 
freely  discussed,  and  many  of  the  best  minds  and  purest  hearts 
of  the  state  have  committed  themselves  gladly,  unreservedly, 
and  forever  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  We  doubt  not  that  when 
the  subject  shall  come  up  again  for  action,  to  be  decided  upon  its 
own  merits,  and  without  reference  to  political  considerations  a 

»«  "Debates  in  the  Kentucky  Convention,  1849,"  p.  840. 

'»  Collins:  "History  of  Kentucky."  Vol.  1,  p.  332. 

i»  "Journal  of  the  Convention,  Debates,"  etc.,  pp.  1087-1089.     See  also  pp.  867-874. 

1M  Ibid.     See  Constitution  of  Kentucky,  1850,  Article  10,  Sections  1,  2,  3. 


138     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

result  will  crown  the  efforts  of  the  friends  of  freedom  which  will 
cause  their  hearts  to  thrill  with  joy." 1 24 

The  fact  that  in  Kentucky,  where  four  years  previously 
Cassius  M.  Clay  had  been  prevented,  by  pro-slavery  men,  from 
publishing  an  emancipation  newspaper,  a  movement  such  as 
this  could  be  set  on  foot  and  the  whole  question  of  slavery  so  un 
reservedly  discussed,  was  assuredly  great  progress.  The  free 
dom  of  discussion  thus  secured  was  never  lost.125  From  this 
date  until  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  Kentucky  by  the  thirteenth 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  1865,  the 
free  discussion  of  slavery  both  in  the  press  and  in  public  discus 
sions  prevailed  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any  other  slave  state ; 
and  this,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  accomplishments  of 
the  anti-slavery  workers  of  Kentucky,  was  in  some  measure  re 
sponsible  for  the  loyalty  of  the  state  to  the  Union  and  the  North 
during  the  Civil  War.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  the  anti- 
slavery  agitation  in  spite  of  the  most  eminent  support  complete 
ly  failed  to  gain  its  chief  end.  On  the  contrary  the  constitution 
of  1849  made  emancipation  more  difficult  than  before  and  more 
firmly  established  and  safeguarded  the  institution  of  slavery  in 
the  state. 


184  The  Examiner,  December  8,  1849.  This  paper  was  discontinued  after  the  publi 
cation  of  this  number,  due  largely  to  the  lack  of  support. 

118  Cassius  M.  Clay  was  a  candidate  for  Governor  on  an  emancipation  ticket  in  1851. 
He  canvassed  the  entire  state  and  encountered  but  little  opposition. 


CONCLUSIONS 


CHAPTER   X 


While  slavery  was  introduced  into  Kentucky  with  the  first 
settlers,  the  slaves  constituted  a  comparatively  small  and  unim 
portant  element  of  the  population  before  1792.  The  early  set 
tlers,  although  coming  largely  from  the  slave  state  of  Virginia, 
were  men  of  moderate  means  and  were  consequently  small  or 
non-slaveholders.  Furthermore,  the  prevalent  pioneer  condi 
tions  were  not  conducive  to  the  development  of  so  aristocratic 
an  institution  as  slavery.  Since  the  country  was  ill  adapted 
to  the  plantation  system,  domestic  slavery  generally  prevailed. 
And  since  the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  which  alone  of  the  chief 
agricultural  products  was  suited  to  the  extensive  application  of 
slave  labor,  was  ruinous  to  the  soil,  considerable  opposition  was 
early  manifested  to  its  wide  production  in  the  state. 

In  Kentucky,  as  in  other  sections  of  the  country  before  1792, 
people  generally  were  hostile  to  slavery  and  anxiously  looked 
forward  to  its  final  abolition.  It  was  condemned  not  only  by- 
Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Marshall,  Jay,  and 
other  prominent  men  but  by  the  leading  religious  denominations 
of  the  country,  many  of  which  took  vigorous  action  toward  its 
ultimate  elimination.  As  long  as  Kentucky  remained  an  inte 
gral  part  of  Virginia,  there  was  little  opportunity  for  anti-slavery 
effort.  No  sooner,  however,  had  the  question  of  the  admission 
of  Kentucky  into  the  Union  as  an  independent  state  been  set 
tled  and  the  election  of  delegates  ordered  in  1792  to  the  conven 
tion  to  frame  Kentucky's  first  constitution  than  the  opponents 
of  slavery  launched  a  movement  for  constitutional  emancipation. 
In  many  of  the  convention  elections,  the  slavery  issue  received 
considerable  attention  and  several  candidates  favorable  to  eman 
cipation  were  elected.  Under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev.  David 
Rice,  they  made  a  vigorous  fight  in  the  convention  against  the 
recognition  of  slavery  in  the  new  constitution,  but  were  defeated 
by  a  vote  of  26  to  16.  The  pro-slavery  element  was  ably  led  by 
Col.  George  Nicholas  and  was  supported  by  a  majority  of  the 
political  leaders  of  the  state. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  anti-slavery  effort 
continued  unabated,  especially  in  the  churches.  The  Baptist 


140     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

Associations  while  condemning  slavery  regarded  the  question  of 
emancipation  as  political  and  as  such  attempted  to  prevent  its 
discussion  in  the  local  churches  and  associations.  In  this,  how 
ever,  they  were  not  wholly  successful,  for  widespread  dissensions 
arose  and  in  a  few  instances  caused  the  formation  of  independ 
ent  emancipation  churches.  While  the  Presbyterian  church 
was  more  pronounced  in  its  opposition  to  slavery  than  the  Bap 
tist  Associations,  it  suffered  less  from  dissensions  and  secessions. 
Less  strongly  anti-slavery  sentiment  found  expression  in  the  Meth 
odist  Episcopal  and  other  religious  denominations  of  the  state. 

In  1797  the  first  emancipation  societies  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains  were  organized  in  Kentucky.  They  were 
small  in  numbers,  limited  in  influence,  and  conservative  in  policy, 
advocating  gradual  emancipation.  After  an  existence  of  two  or 
possibly  three  years  they  were  dissolved. 

In  the  controversy  over  the  calling  of  a  constitutional  con 
vention  in  1797  and  1798  and  in  the  convention  elections  of  the 
following  year,  the  question  of  constitutional  emancipation  was 
one  of  the  leading  issues  before  the  people.  In  most  of  the  con 
vention  elections  the  candidates  either  voluntarily  or  by  request 
expressed  their  views  in  regard  to  slavery,  and  in  a  few  instances 
the  campaign  appeared  to  have  been  waged  on  this  issue  alone. 
Among  those  who  favored  emancipation  at  this  time  and  labored 
to  secure  its  adoption  was  Henry  Clay,  who  was  just  beginning 
his  long  and  eventful  political  career.  While  the  anti-slavery 
forces  displayed  great  activity  and  strength,  they  were  unable 
to  secure  control  of  the  convention  and  to  prevent  the  new  con 
stitution's  reaffirming  with  a  few  minor  changes  the  slave  pro 
visions  of  the  constitution  of  1792. 

During  the  three  following  decades,  anti-slavery  sentiment 
continued  to  find  expression  in  a  number  of  ways.  In  the  legis 
lature  repeated  attempts  were  made  to  secure  the  passage  of  laws 
designed  to  encourage  voluntary  emancipation,  to  safeguard  the 
rights  and  interests  of  free  Negroes,  to  prevent  the  importation 
of  slaves  into  the  state,  and  to  secure  the  calling  of  a  constitu 
tional  convention  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  some  plan  of  eman 
cipation.  While  the  religious  denominations  were  still  hostile 
to  slavery,  there  was  a  pronounced  tendency  to  regard  the  ques 
tion  as  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church.  Nevertheless, 
during  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Baptist  dis 
sensions  were  numerous  and  a  number  of  seceding  emancipation 
churches  were  organized  into  an  association.  The  general  at- 


Conclusions  141 

titude  of  the  churches  was  a  contributing  cause  of  the  formation 
in  1808  of  gradual  emancipation  societies,  which  furnished  an 
outlet  for  the  expression  of  anti-slavery  feeling.  These  societies 
had  an  active  existence  of  about  twenty  years.  During  this 
time  they  embraced  more  or  less  of  the  colonization  idea  and 
finally  they  were  either  dissolved  or  merged  into  colonization 
societies. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  connection  with  emancipa 
tion  was  the  problem  of  the  freed  slave.  Should  he  be  colonized? 
Or  should  he  be  permitted  to  live  a  free  man  in  the  former  slave 
states?  This  latter  solution,  the  southern  people  generally  viewed 
with  the  greatest  apprehension  and  alarm.  Believing,  as  they 
did,  in  the  decided  inferiority  of  the  Negro  as  compared  with  the 
white  man,  they  could  see  only  chaos,  anarchy,  and  bloodshed 
following  emancipation  without  colonization.  This  belief  was 
based  largely  upon  their  observation  of  the  free  Negroes  who 
were  criminal,  immoral,  and  depraved  and  were  undesirable  mem 
bers  of  the  population  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South.  Hence 
to  the  people  in  the  slave  states,  where  the  Negroes  constituted 
a  large  percentage  of  the  population,  colonization  was  an  exceed 
ingly  important  consideration.  With  a  desire  to  solve  this  prob 
lem,  the  American  Colonization  Society  was  founded  in  1816. 
Its  principles,  approved  by  Congress,  many  state  legislatures, 
religious  denominations,  and  other  organizations,  spread  rapidly. 
In  Kentucky  and  the  other  border  states,  where  the  anti-slavery 
workers  were  conservative  gradual  emancipationists,  it  became 
from  the  beginning  very  closely  associated  with  the  emancipa 
tion  movement,  although  all  emancipationists  did  not  necessarily 
favor  colonization,  neither  did  all  colonizationists  support 
emancipation.  In  Kentucky  the  colonization  movement  was 
very  popular.  It  received  the  repeated  approval  of  the  legisla 
ture  and  the  active  support  of  the  religious  denominations  as 
well  as  that  of  the  political  leaders  of  the  state,  chief  among  whom 
was  Henry  Clay.  During  the  forties,  from  funds  raised  within 
the  state,  a  large  tract  of  land  known  as  " Kentucky  in  Liberia" 
was  purchased  in  Liberia  for  the  purpose  of  colonizing  the  free 
Negroes  of  the  state  as  well  as  those  Negroes  who  might  be  freed 
for  the  purpose  of  colonization.  Although  receiving  the  gen 
eral  approval  of  people  in  the  state,  the  movement  was  very  dis 
appointing  in  its  results.  Because  of  the  lack  of  funds  and  the 
indisposition  of  the  free  Negroes  to  present  themselves  to  the 
society  for  transportation,  not  a  great  deal  was  accomplished  in 


142     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

the  way  of  ridding  the  state  of  the  free  Negro  population  or  in 
preparing  the  state  for  emancipation.  It  served,  however,  as  a 
means  for  the  expression  of  anti-slavery  sentiment  through  which 
the  evils  of  slavery  and  the  question  of  emancipation  were  kept 
constantly  before  the  people. 

As  a  result  of  the  general  philanthropic  and  reform  move 
ment  which  swept  over  the  country  about  1830,  in  Kentucky 
there  was  an  increased  interest  in  the  slave  and  the  free  Negro 
and  a  pronounced  renewal  of  anti-slavery  agitation.  Emanci 
pation  became  a  popular  topic  of  discussion  and  the  Kentucky 
newspapers  gave  the  subject  more  attention  than  at  any  time  in 
the  history  of  the  state.  A  sentiment,  supported  largely  by 
slaveholders,  favoring  emancipation  was  rapidly  developing, 
which  found  expression  in  part  in  the  formation  of  gradual 
emancipation  societies  composed  of  slaveholders,  who  pledged 
themselves  voluntarily  to  emancipate  their  slaves  and  to  work 
for  the  adoption  of  constitutional  emancipation  in  the  state. 
While  the  number  of  these  societies  was  small,  as  a  result  of  the 
prominence  of  many  of  the  members  they  exerted  an  influence 
far  out  of  proportion  to  their  numbers.  The  dissolution  of  these 
organizations  after  an  existence  of  less  than  five  years  was  due 
in  no  small  degree  to  the  rise  of  the  modern  Garrisonian  aboli 
tion  movement  and  the  formation  in  1835  of  a  society  in  Ken 
tucky  auxiliary  to  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society.  This 
branch,  although  under  the  able  leadership  of  James  G.  Birney, 
continued  only  a  few  months.  Both  the  society  and  The  Phil 
anthropist,  an  abolition  newspaper  published  by  Birney,  called 
forth  from  all  classes  of  the  population,  even  the  gradual  eman 
cipationists,  such  violent  opposition  that  he  was  forced  to  dis 
continue  his  publication  in  Kentucky.  With  the  discontinuance 
of  this  paper,  the  modern  abolition  movement  in  the  state,  which 
had  become  a  great  drawback  to  the  real  anti-slavery  work  and 
in  many  instances  caused  its  cessation  altogether,  collapsed. 

*  The  increased  anti-slavery  activity  during  the  early  thirties 
brought  the  question  of  emancipation  constantly  before  the  re 
ligious  denominations  of  the  state.  Although  they  regarded 
slavery  more  and  more  as  a  political  question  with  which  they 
should  not  interfere,  a  strong  attempt  was  made  in  the  Presby 
terian  church  to  force  a  decided  stand  in  favor  of  emancipation. 
While  the  attempt  failed,  the  controversy  attracted  wide  atten 
tion,  since  in  this  church  were  many  of  the  leading  political  lead 
ers  and  large  slave  owners  of  the  state.  In  all  the  religious  de- 


Conclusions  143 

nominations,  interest  was  being  diverted  from  the  original  issue 
to  the  question  of  the  general  well-being  of  the  slave  population. 
Particularly  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  the  Presbyterian,  and  the 
Baptist  churches  made  special  efforts  to  educate  and  Christian 
ize  the  slaves.  When  the  divisions  occurred  in  the  Methodist 
and  the  Baptist  churches  during  the  forties,  the  Kentucky  church 
es  almost  unanimously  supported  the  southern  wing  of  the 
church. 

From  the  very  beginning,  opposition  to  the  importation  of 
slaves  from  other  states  and  from  foreign  countries  was  pro 
nounced  in  Kentucky,  which  upon  receiving  statehood  enacted 
a  number  of  laws    designed   to   regulate    and,    to    a    limited 
extent,  to  restrict  the  importation  of  slaves.     But  since  inade 
quate  provisions  were  made  for  their  enforcement,  they  accom 
plished  little.     Anti-slavery  workers,  in  their  endeavors  to  make 
slavery  as  humane  as  possible  while  it  lasted,  not  only  opposed 
the  ordinary  traffic  in  slaves  but  diligently  sought  to  secure  the 
enforcement  of  the  existing  importation  laws  and,  further,  to  re 
strict  importations  of  slaves  from  other  states.     This,  it  was 
maintained,  would  check  the  increase  of  the  slave  population 
and  consequently  lessen  the  difficulties  of  emancipation.     About 
1830,  wider  interest  was  manifested  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  a 
new  stringent  importation  law.     After  a  thorough  discussion  of 
the  subject  for  three  years  in  the  legislature  and  throughout  the 
state,  the  law  was  passed  in   1833.     Unfortunately,  the  contro 
versy  did  not  end  here.  The  supporters  of  slavery  at  once  launched 
a  campaign  to  secure  the  repeal  of  this  law.      The  question 
came  before  the  legislature  annually  until  1849,  when  the  most 
important  features  of  the  law  of  1833  were  repealed.     This  con 
troversy  was  especially  important  in  connection  with  the  anti- 
slavery  movement  in  Kentucky  because  in  these  annual  debates 
on  the  subject  almost  every  phase  of  slavery  and  emancipation 
was  most  thoroughly  discussed. 

While  anti-slavery  workers  labored  in  every  way  possible 
to  counteract  the  many  evil  effects  of  slavery,  the  ultimate  ob 
ject  of  their  efforts  was  constitutional  emancipation.  For  more 
than  three  decades  after  the  ratification  of  the  constitution  of 
1799,  the  question  of  calling  a  constitutional  convention  came 
before  the  legislature  nearly  every  year,  almost  unanimously 
supported  by  the  anti-slavery  workers,  although  many  other  ad 
vocates  of  the  convention  were  opposed  to  emancipation.  Dur 
ing  the  early  thirties,  the  convention  bill  became  one  of  the  lead- 


144     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

ing  issues  before  the  legislature.  Believing  that  the  time  was 
ripe  for  emancipation,  the  opponents  of  slavery  pushed  the  bill 
with  all  their  energy  and  were  largely  instrumental  in  causing 
the  legislature,  in  accordance  with  a  constitutional  provision,  to 
submit  the  question  to  the  people  in  1837.  The  anti-slavery 
workers  throughout  the  country  were  very  optimistic  concern 
ing  the  result  and  pro-slavery  leaders  in  Kentucky  and  the  South 
were  much  alarmed.  While  the  anti-slavery  workers  of  the 
North  pronounced  Kentucky  "the  battleground  of  freedom"  and 
concentrated  their  efforts  there,  openly  predicting  that  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery  in  Kentucky  would  be  followed  in  the  near  future 
by  similar  action  in  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Virginia, 
Maryland,  North  Carolina,  and  then  the  states  oi  the  lower  South, 
the  pro-slavery  leaders  of  Kentucky  and  the  South  appealed  to 
Kentucky  to  remain  loyal  to  her  sister  slave  states,  from  which 
came  threats  of  commercial  retaliation  and  even  secession  in  case 
she  deserted  them  and  allied  herself  with  the  North.  Sectional 
feeling,  which  was  probably  stronger  than  at  any  previous  period 
in  the  history  of  the  state,  played  an  important  part  in  the  con 
vention  elections.  Henry  Clay,  the  most  influential  man  in  the 
state,  was  joined  by  many  other  prominent  men  in  opposing  the 
convention  and  emancipation  largely  on  the  ground  that  due  to 
the  antagonism  aroused  by  the  radical  abolition  movement  it 
was  not  expedient  to  abolish  slavery  at  that  time.  Many  of  the 
conservative  emancipationists,  also,  took  this  attitude  with  the 
result  that  the  convention  bill  and  consequently  constitutional 
emancipation  were  defeated  by  a  large  majority.  Henry  Clay 
and  other  Kentuckians  of  that  period  expressed  the  belief  that 
had  it  not  been  for  the  interference  of  radical  abolitionists  and 
northern  support  of  the  Underground  Railroad  System,  by  which 
hundreds  of  Kentuckians  were  deprived  of  their  property  in 
slaves,  Kentucky  probably  would  have  adopted  some  plan  of 
gradual  emancipation.  This  assumption  seems  to  be  borne  out 
by  the  historical  evidence. 

For  a  few  years  following  the  defeat  of  the  convention  bill, 
anti-slavery  activity  was  not  conspicuous.  But  during  the  early 
forties,  the  bold,  fearless,  and  energetic  Cassius  M.  Clay,  nephew 
of  Henry  Clay,  and  a  member  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
prominent  slave-owning  families  in  the  state,  assumed  the  lead 
ership  of  the  anti-slavery  forces  and  gave  new  life  to  the  move 
ment. 


Conclusions  145 

Believing  that  the  anti-slavery  sympathizers  of  Kentucky 
should  have  some  medium  for  the  expression  of  their  views,  since 
the  columns  of  many  of  the  newspapers  were  closed  to  anti- 
slavery  discussions,  he  established  at  Lexington,  in  1845,  an 
anti-slavery  newspaper,  The  True  American.  The  circulation 
of  the  paper  increased  rapidly ;  but  after  the  appearance  of  a  few 
numbers  the  pro-slavery  element,  fearing  its  influence,  particu 
larly  upon  the  non-slaveholders,  to  whom  it  made  an  especial 
appeal,  by  force  compelled  Clay  to  discontinue  its  publication 
in  Kentucky.  The  press  was  moved  to  Cincinnati,  where  the 
paper  was  printed  for  a  few  months.  Soon  after  Clay's  enlist 
ment  in  the  army  at  the  opening  of  the  Mexican  War,  some  of 
the  men  associated  with  him  in  the  publication  purchased  the 
press  and  moved  to  Louisville,  where  they  began  in  1847  the  pub 
lication  of  The  Examiner,  a  weekly  anti-slavery  paper  modeled 
after  The  True  American.  This,  although  a  pronounced 
anti-slavery  paper,  encountered  but  little  opposition  during  the 
two  years  of  its  existence. 

When  the  legislature,  due  to  the  demand  for  constitutional 
reform,  in  1846  submitted  the  question  of  calling  a  constitutional 
convention,  the  people  in  the  elections  of  1848  and  1849  returned 
large  majorities  in  favor  of  it.  It  is  impossible  to  say  just  what 
part  anti-slavery  workers  had  in  this  result.  It  is  certain,  how 
ever,  that  emancipation  was  the  leading  issue  in  some  counties 
and  one  of  the  important  issues  in  many  others.  Since  emanci 
pation  had  been  one  of  the  troublesome  questions  in  the  state 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  there  was  a  general  desire  on  the 
part  of  both  pro-  and  anti-slavery  men  to  force  a  definite  and  fin 
al  settlement.  This  fact  was  of  importance  in  the  elections. 

Immediately  after  the  election  of  delegates  had  been  ordered 
for  the  convention,  the  anti-slavery  men  began  to  organize  and  held 
emancipation  meetings  throughout  the  state.  In  April,  1849, 
there  was  a  great  state  convention,  presided  over  by  Henry  Clay, 
who  had  come  out  openly  in  favor  of  gradual  emancipation  in 
the  new  constitution,  which  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions  con 
demning  slavery  and  advocating  gradual  emancipation  and  col 
onization.  After  this  meeting,  emancipation  candidates  were 
nominated  in  many  counties  and  the  candidates  in  many  of  the 
remaining  counties  were  forced  to  state  their  positions  in  regard 
to  emancipation.  United  States  Senators  Henry  Clay  and  J.  R. 
Underwood,  together  with  many  other  prominent  Kentuckians, 


146     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

canvassed  the  state  in  the  interest  of  emancipation.  The  ques 
tion  was  freely  discussed  both  on  the  platform  and  in  the  press. 
One  of  the  weaknesses  of  the  anti-slavery  cause  was  the  lack 
of  agreement  upon  any  specific  plan  of  emancipation  and  col 
onization  out  of  the  hundreds  of  plans  proposed  and  discussed. 
There  was  much  talk  of  the  submission  of  the  question  of  eman 
cipation  to  the  people  for  a  referendum  vote;  and  local  option 
as  applied  to  slavery  found  many  supporters.  But  the  plan  that 
attracted  the  most  attention  provided  that  all  slaves  in  1849 
should  remain  slaves  for  life  but  that  all  children  of  slaves  born 
after  a  fixed  date,  as  1855,  should  be  free,  males  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five  and  females  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  upon  acquir 
ing  freedom  should  be  colonized  in  Africa  at  the  expense  of  the 
state. 

The  pro-slavery  leaders  were  equally  active  and  far  better 
organized.  They  nominated  for  convention  delegates  their  best 
men, — men  who  were  recognized  as  conservative  and  safe  and 
who  held  the  confidence  of  the  people. 

The  result  of  the  campaign  was  the  election  of  pro-slavery 
candidates  in  every  county  in  the  state.  The  convention  which 
assembled  a  few  months  later,  instead  of  providing  some  plan  of 
gradual  emancipation,  added  a  number  of  provisions  to  the  slave 
clause  of  the  old  constitution  making  voluntary  emancipation 
more  difficult  and  safeguarding  the  rights  of  slaveholders  to 
their  property  in  slaves. 

With  the  defeat  of  the  emancipation  party  in  the  conven 
tion  election  of  1849  and  the  ratification  of  the  new  constitution, 
the  possibility  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  Kentucky  for  many 
years  vanished.  While  the  anti-slavery  leaders  did  not  lose 
confidence  in  the  ultimate  success  of  their  efforts,  they  realized 
both  that  a  long  and  systematic  campaign  was  necessary  to  con 
vince  the  people  that  slavery  should  be  abolished  because  it  was 
not  only  morally  wrong  but  economically  harmful  to  their  inter 
ests,  and  that  some  definite,  practical  plan  of  emancipation  and 
colonization  must  be  brought  forward  to  command  the  support 
of  all  the  elements  in  the  anti-slavery  ranks. 

During  the  fifties,  the  anti-slavery  party  gradually  increased 
in  strength  and  influence  through  the  addition  to  their  numbers 
of  many  prominent  men.  As  in  the  preceding  decade,  emanci 
pation  was  in  many  counties  an  important  issue.  And  in  one 
instance  Cassius  M.  Clay  canvassed  the  state  as  an  emancipa 
tion  candidate  for  governor. 


Conclusions  147 

As  the  hostility  between  the  North  and  the  South  increased 
after  1850,  the  sectional  lines  in  Kentucky  became  more  closely 
fixed  and  the  national  questions  such  as  the  extension  of  slavery 
into  the  territories  of  the  United  States  and  the  right  of  secession 
attracted  more  and  more  attention.  Because  of  the  loyalty  of 
the  great  majority  of  Kentuckians  to  the  Union,  slavery  in  Ken 
tucky  became  so  closely  associated  with  these  national  questions 
that  were  rapidly  dividing  the  Union  into  two  hostile  camps  that 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  treat  them  sepa 
rately.  For  this  reason  it  has  been  thought  advisable  to  consid 
er  the  period  after  1850  in  a  second  volume. 


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MANUSCRIPTS. 


The  Lyman  C.  Draper  Collection  of  Manuscripts,  in  the  Wisconsin  State 
Historical  Society  Library,  contains  much  valuable  material  on  Kentucky 
history.  Of  special  use  in  the  preparation  of  this  volume  were  the  Daniel 
Boone  Manuscripts,  Vols.  3-11,  and  the  Kentucky  Manuscripts,  Worsley 
Papers,  Vols.  5-8,  of  this  collection. 

A  recent  contribution  to  the  library  of  the  University  of  Chicago  is  the 
collection  of  the  R.  T.  Durrett  Manuscripts,  the  papers  of  a  number  of  prom 
inent  Kentuckians.  It  is  one  of  the  largest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
valuable  manuscript  collections  on  Kentucky  history  in  existence. 

The  Breckinridge  Papers,  donated  to  the  Library  of  Congress  by  Miss 
Sophonisba  Preston  Breckinridge  and  Mr.  Desha  Breckinridge,  in  1905, 
subject  to  certain  conditions  which  have  prevented  their  being  thrown  open 
to  the  general  public,  contain  the  papers  of  John  Breckinridge,  1760-1806, 
John  Breckinridge,  his  son,  1797-1841,  Robert  Jefferson  Breckinridge,  another 
son,  1800-1871,  and  William  Campbell  Preston  Breckinridge,  son  of  Robert, 
1837-1905.  In  addition  there  are  papers  of  many  other  members  of  the 
family.  In  the  collection  there  are  between  25,000  and  30,000  papers  which 
are  arranged  chronologically.  Much  valuable  material  for  this  study  was 
obtained  from  this  collection. 

The  papers  of  J.  J.  Crittenden,  about  2,500  in  number,  marking  his  long 
and  distinguished  career  as  a  public  servant,  are  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 
The  papers  covering  the  period  from  1840  to  1850  were  useful  in  connection 
with  this  work. 

Valuable  for  the  early  period  of  Kentucky  history  were  the  Harry  Innis 
Papers,  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  containing  about  3,000  pieces. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  NEWSPAPERS. 


THE  ANTI-SLAVERY  BUGLE, 

Salem,  Ohio,  1845-1850. 
THE  ABOLITION  INTELLIGENCER  AND  MISSIONARY  MAGAZINE, 

Shelbyville,  Ky.,  1822-1823. 
THE  AFRICAN  OBSERVER, 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1827-1828. 
THE  AFRICAN  REPOSITORY, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  1826-1850.     A  Colonization  Paper. 
THE  ANTI-SLAVERY  ALMANAC, 

Boston,  Mass.,  1836-1844. 
THE  ANTI-SLAVERY  EXAMINER, 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  1836-1839. 
THE  EMANCIPATOR, 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  1834-1850. 
FREEDOM'S  JOURNAL, 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  1827-1828. 
THE  GENIUS  OF  UNIVERSAL  EMANCIPATION, 

Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  1821. 

Greeneville,  Tenn.,  1822-1824. 

Baltimore,  Md.,  1824-1830. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  1830-1836. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1836-1839. 
THE  HERALD  OF  FREEDOM, 

Concord,  N.  H.,  1836. 
THE  LIBERATOR, 

Boston,  Mass.,  1831-1850. 


Neivspapers  157 


THE  PHILANTHROPIST, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  1837-1838. 
THE  QUARTERLY  ANTI-SLAVERY  MAGAZINE, 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  1836-1837. 


NEWSPAPERS. 

THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1810-1812. 
THE  ARGUS  OF  WESTERN  AMERICA, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1816-1830. 
THE  COMMENTATOR, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1823-1832. 
THE  COMMONWEALTH, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1834-1850. 
THE  CROSS  (Baptist), 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1834  *  ! 
THE  GUARDIAN  OF  FREEDOM, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1799-1805. 
THE  KENTUCKIAN, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1828-1831. 
THE  SPIRIT  OF  SEVENTY-SIX, 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  1826-1828. 
THE  KENTUCKY  GAZETTE, 

Lexington,  Ky.,  1794-1836. 
THE  KENTUCKY  REPORTER, 

Lexington,  Ky.,  1812-1832. 
THE  LEXINGTON  OBSERVER, 

Lexington,  Ky.,  1831-1832. 
STEWART'S  KENTUCKY  HERALD, 

Lexington,  Ky.,  1795-1802. 
THE  WESTERN  LUMINARY, 

Lexington,  Ky.,  1824-1835. 
THE  WESTERN  MONITOR, 

Lexington,  Ky.,  1814-1825. 
THE  LOUISVILLE  CORRESPONDENT, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1814-1815. 
THE  LOUISVILLE  HERALD  AND  COMMERCIAL  GAZETTE, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1832-1834. 
THE  FARMER'S  LIBRARY, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1802-1807. 
LOUISVILLE  LITERARY  NEWS  LETTER, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1838-1840. 
THE  LOUISVILLE  PUBLIC  ADVERTISER, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1818-1850. 
THE  LOUISVILLE  JOURNAL, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1840-1850. 
THE  PRENTICE  REVIEW, 

Louisville,  Ky. 
THE  WESTERN  PRESBYTERIAN  HERALD, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1836-1838. 
THE  PRESBYTERIAN  HERALD, 

Louisville,  Ky.,  1846-1850. 


158     The  Anti-Slavery  Movement  in  Kentucky  Prior  to  1850 

THE  MAYSVILLE  EAGLE, 

Maysville,  Ky.,  1823-1850. 
THE  RIGHTS  OF  MAN,  OR  THE  KENTUCKY  MERCURY, 

Paris,  Ky.,  1797. 
THE  WESTERN  CITIZEN, 

Paris,  Ky.,  1824-1831. 
THE  ADVOCATE  OF  POPULAR  RIGHTS, 

Shelbyville,  Ky.,  1833-1834. 
THE  BAPTIST  BANNER, 

Shelbyville,  Ky.,  1835-1836. 
THE  POLITICAL  EXAMINER  AND  GENERAL  RECORDER, 

Shelbyville,  Ky.,  1832-1833. 
THE  MIRROR, 

Washington,  Ky.,  1797-1798. 
THE  KENTUCKY  ADVERTISER, 

Winchester,  Ky.,  1816-1818. 
NILES'  WEEKLY  REGISTER, 

Washington,  D.  C.t  1812-1849. 
THE  CINCINNATI  CHRONICLE, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  1830-1850. 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Abolition,     Immediate    (see     Garrisonian    Aboli 
tion)  10,  31,  47,  48,  63,  70f 

Abolition  Intelligencer  and  Missionary  Magazine 46,47 

African  Repository 53,  54 

Agriculture  in  Kentucky 7,  8,  9 

Alexander,  J.  R 85 

Alien  and  Sedition  Acts 30 

American  Anti-Slavery  Society 73ff 

American  Colonization  Society  for  the  Free  People  of 

Color 50-62 

Birney  and  The 70 

American  Convention  of  Delegates  for  the  Promotion 
of  the  Abolition  of  Slavery  and   Improving  the 

Condition  of  the  African  Race 24,  25,  50,  51 

Anti-Slavery : 

Activity   in   the    Baptist   Church 19ff,  37-42,  79-82 

Activity  in  the  Methodist  Church 20,  21,  34,  35,  79ff 

Activity  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  .  .  .21-25,  36,  37,  82-87 

Newspapers note  64,  46 

Pioneers  in 12 

Sentiment  in  1830 64f 

Ashmun  Association 71,  72 

Ballard,  Bland note  57,123 

Baptist  Associations: 

Association    of    Baptists,    Friends  of  Humanity..     41,42 
Baptized  Licking  Locust,  Friends  of  Humanity..     39,40 

Bracken 38 

Cumberland 38 

Elkhorn 19,  37,  38 

Miami,  of  Ohio 40,  41 

North  District 38 

Salem 19 

Baptist  Banner 76,  82, 120 

Baptist  Church: 

Anti-Slavery    Resolutions    of    the    General    Com 
mittee  of  Virginia 19 


160  Index. 

PAGE 

Attitude  Toward  Garrisonian  Abolition 76ff 

Attitude  Toward  the  Domestic  Slave  Trade 91 

Attitude  Toward  Slavery  Before  1800,   19f;   1800- 

1830,  37-42;  1830-1850,  79-82 

Divisions  in 

Vote  of  Ministers  in  Convention  of  1792 17 

Baptized   Licking  Locust  Association,   Friends  of   Hu 
manity  39, 40 

Barrow,  David 20,  38,  39,  40,  41,  42,  45,  47 

Bell,  W.  C 115 

Birney,  James  G .  .69,  70,  71,  74,  75,  85,  102 

Blue  Grass  Region,  Slave  Population  of .... 

Boone,  Daniel note  3,  6 

Boyle,  T.  J 132 

Breckinridge,  John 26,  note  39,  26,  27,  29,  30 

Breckinridge,  Robert  J ...  .31,  32,  54,  58,  84,  92,  96,  100, 

Note  32,  108,  129,  130,  132,  133 

Breckinridge,  W.  L .   85,  125 

Bryant  Station  Convention 29,  30 

Buchanan,  Professor 74 

Burch,  James  K 

Carmen,  Joshua 

Cartwright,  Peter .  .  36 

Chronicle,  The 123 

Clark,  George 

Clarke,  J.  F 66 

Clay,  Brutus  J 118 

Clay,  Cassius  M 56  ,95  ,96  ,lllf  ,130  ,132  ,133 

Clay,    Henry.  .27,28,31,32,34,49,51,55,57,58,69,  81, 

105,  107,  108,  109,  113,  126,  127,  128,  129, 130, 132 

Clay,  James  B •  H6f,  I28 

Coffin,  Levi note   36,    110 

Colonization  of  Free  Negroes 45,48,  50ff,  84,  123,  126,  127 

Commonwealth,  The 1°6 

Constitutional  Convention  of  1792.  .  .  13-17 

Constitutional  Convention  of  1799: 

Slave  Clause 31,  32 

Slavery  Discussion 31,  32 

Vote  for  Calling 25»  26 

Constitutional  Convention  of  1849.  ...                             •  120-137 
Cowan,  A.  M 59>  60 


Index.  161 

PAGE 

Crosley,  F 118 

Crowe,  John  Finley 45 

Cunningham,  Charles  N 85 

Danville  Political  Club 9,  10 

Opposition  to  Slavery 12 

Democrats 113f,  122, 132, 135 

Dodge,  Josiah 20 

Domestic  Slave  Trade : 

Attitude  of  the  Danville  Political  Club 12 

Attitude  of  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society 43-47 

Attitude  of  the  Methodist  Church 35, 36,  91 

Attitude  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 36, 91 

Early  Legislation 89 

Extent  of 88,89 

Slave  Clause  in  the  Constitution  of  1792 note  14,  14 

Slave  Clause  in  the  Constitution  of  1799 31,  32 

Dorchester,  Lord  (Sir  Guy  Carleton) 7 

Dudley,  Ambrose 41 

Emancipation : 

American  Convention  of  Delegates 50ff 

American  Colonization  Society 5  Off 

Ashmun  Association 71,  72 

Baptist  Church 19ff,  37-42 

Bryant  Station  Convention 29,  30 

Clay's  Plan  of,  1849 126 

Constitutional  Convention  of  1799 31,  32 

Demand    for    Constitutional    Emancipation    1800- 

1850 33,98-111 

Discussion  in  Legislature  of 67 

Emancipation  Churches 20ff 

Gradual  Emancipation  Societies 68f  f 

Kentucky  Abolition  Society 42,  43 

Kentucky  Anti-Slavery  Society 74 

Kentucky  Society  for  the  Relief  of  the  State  from 

Slavery 70,71 

Methodist  Church 21,  36 

Presbyterian  Church 22,  23,  85f 

Sentiment  1840-50 112ff,  122 

South  and  Emancipation  in  Kentucky 105f 

Voluntary 53,57 


162  Index. 

PAGE 

Emancipation  Convention : 

Frankfort  Convention 129-131, 133, 134 

Frankfort  Platform 131, 134 

Plans  for 115ff 

Emancipator,  The 105,  106,  107 

Examiner,  The 118, 119ff,  134, 137 

Fee,  John  G 123, 124, 130 

Filson,  John 12 

Frankfort  Commonwealth 130 

Frankfort  Convention.     See  Emancipation  Convention. 

Frankfort  Platform 131, 134 

Free  Negro 25,43,45,47,49,50,51-62 

Fugitive  Slaves.  See  Underground  Railroad. 

Garrard,  James 41 

Garrisonian  Abolition 72,  73 

Attitude  of  Churches 76-80 

Attitude  of  the  Kentucky  Press 76-78,  98-111 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd 73, 95, 106, 115, 128 

Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation 46,  note  64,  46,  64 

Green,  John 58,67,85,91,92 

Griggs,  Jacob 20 

Hall,  Nathan  H 85 

Harrison,  Carter  R note  86,  130 

Harrodsburg,    Census   of,    1777 note   5,    6 

Helm,  J.  M 102 

Hickman,  William 20,  41 

Hints  on  Slavery lOOf 

Holmes,  Donald 20 

Hopkins,  Samuel note  61,  30 

Johnson,  M.  C note  86,  130 

Jouett,  George  P note   86,  130 

Kendall,  Amos 75 

Kentucky  Abolition  Society 40,  42f f 

Kentucky  Colonization  Society 53ff ,  84 

Kentucky,  Settlement  of 6 

Number  of  Slaves  in,  1790 6,  7 

Products  of,  1789,  1818,  7,  8;  1840 8 

Population  of  1800-1830 6,  7 

Kentucky  Resolutions 30 

Kentucky  Society   for   the   Relief  of   the  State   from 

Slavery 70,  71 


Index.  163 

PAGE 

Lasley,  Thomas 80 

Legislature  of  Kentucky: 

Demand  for  a  Constitutional  Convention 33, 98ff,  120ff 

Discussion  of  Slavery  in  1828 67 

Memorial  of  the  Kentucky  Abolition  Society  to.  .  45 

Non-importation  Law  of  1833 88-97 

Petition  for  Colonization 60,  61 

Petition  of  Danville  Colonization  Society 52,  55 

Pro-Slavery  Feeling  in 33 

Letcher,  Ex-Governor 122 

Lewis,  H.  P note  86,  130 

Lexington  Atlas 122 

Lexington  Observer 104 

Liberia 51ff 

Kentucky  in 59f 

Local  Option 121 

Logan,  Daniel 29 

Louisville  Courier 120, 121, 122, 124 

Louisville  Journal 56, 120, 122 

Louisville  Public  Advertiser 56 

Lundy,  Benjamin 46, 47,  64 

Mahan,  John  B note  36,  110 

Marshall,  M.  P 136 

Marshall,  Thomas 96, 132 

Maryland 67,  68 

McClung,  John  A 61 

Mclntyre,  John note  61,  30 

Methodist  Church : 

Attitude  Toward  Domestic  Slave  Trade 91 

Attitude  Toward  Garrisonian  Abolitionism 76 

Attitude  Toward  Slavery  of  General  Conferences 
1792-1800,    20,   21;   1800-1830,   34,   35;   1830- 

1850 79f 

Colonization 53 

Divisions  in 80,  81 

Vote  of  Ministers  in  Convention  of  1792 17 

Mexican  War 118 

Missouri : 

Controversy  Over  Admission  of 33,  34,  note  5,  34 

Modern  Abolitionism.     See  Garrisonian  Abolitionism. 
Morehead,  James  T 107 


164  Index. 

PAGE 

Nicholas,  George 13, 14, 15, 16,  29,30 

Nicholas,  S.  S note  57,  123 

Non-Importation  Law  of  1833 88-97 

Attitude  of  Churches 91, 114 

Ohio 67,68,109,  110 

Patterson,  Robert 22 

Pendleton,  James  M note   37,  119 

Philanthropist,  The 74,  75 

Pindell,  Richard 126 

Presbyterian  Church: 

Attitude  Toward  Domestic  Slave  Trade 91 

Attitude  Toward  Garrisonian  Abolitionism 77 

Anti-Slavery  Controversy  in. 21,  22,  23,  24,  36,  37,  82,83-87 

Colonization 53,  60 

David  Rice 12f 

Vote  of  Ministers  in  Convention  of  1792 17 

Presbyterian  Herald 52,  96 

Presbyteries: 

Transylvania 22 

West  Lexington 23,  83 

Pro-Slavery 33,  51 

Opposition  to  Emancipation,  1849 132  ,135f 

Opposition    to    Constitutional    Convention    13-17, 

25-32;  98, 120-137 

Opposition  to  Non-Importation  Law  of  1833 96,  97 

Opposition  to  The  True  American 116-117 

Rice,  David: 

Pioneer  Leader  in  Kentucky 12, 13 

Delegate  to  the  Convention  of  1792 13 

Opposition    to    Slave    Clause    in    Constitution    of 

1792 14,  15;  22-25,  119 

Robert,  John 128 

Russellville  Messenger 64 

Shelby,  Governor 27 

Skillman,  Thomas  T 64,  70 

Slaves : 

Number  of  1790 6,  7 

Number  of  1792 17 

Education  of 37,  83ff 

See  Domestic  Slave  Trade. 
Smith,  Elisha 93 


Index.  165 

PAGE 

Smith,  Gerrit 74, 114 

Smith,  Thomas  Porter 85 

Societies,  Anti-Slavery: 

American  Anti-Slavery  Society 73f f 

Ashmun  Association 71,  72 

Gradual  Emancipation  Societies 68,  69 

Kentucky  Abolition  Society 40,  42ff,  47 

Kentucky  Anti-Slavery  Societies  1797-98 24,  25 

Kentucky  Anti-Slavery  Society 74 

Kentucky  Colonization 53ff ,  84 

Kentucky  Society  for  the  Relief  of  the  State  from 

Slavery 70 

Speed,  James note  57,  123 

Stuart,  Robert 85 

Sutton,  John 20 

Tappan,  Lewis 102 

Tarrant,  Carter 20,  39, 40, 41 

Texas,  Annexation  of 112,  117,  note  28,  118 

Thornton,  J.  R 130 

Tobacco 7,8,9,10,67,68 

True  American,  The 114, 115, 116 

Turner,  James note  86,  130 

Turner,   May  Squire note  31,  94 

Underground  Railroad  System 109-110 

Underwood,  Joseph  R 55,  61, 130, 132 

Vaughan,  John  C 118, 120 

Virginia : 

Constitutional  Convention  of  1829 63 

Wallace,  William  K note  86,  130 

Waters,  T.  H 117 

Western  Luminary 37, 52,  64,  86 

Western  Presbyterian  Herald 77,  78 

Whigs 113f,  122, 132, 135 

White,  Moses 45 

Wickliffe,  Howard 95 

Wickliffe,  Robert 56,  89,  95,  96,  98,99, 100, 114 

Wingate,  Henry 131 

Worsley,  W.  W note  70,  125 

Young,  J.  C ..54,74,85 


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